A sudden sickness
by Rizzy2
Summary: Raph, Leo and Mikey goes on a patrol that ends somewhat differently than they first expected. When a deadly illness hits the lair, it's up to Donnie to find the cure, and nurse his brothers back to health. Meanwhile the city of New York is hit with same faith, and is undergoing a possible fatal epidemic. Fluff, angst and some serious consequences ahead.
1. An unknown illness

**Hello new reader, thanks for clicking on this TMNT 2012 fanficion.  
Now I got this little idea, and couldn't help writing it down, so be prepared for fluff, and sickness, and so on.**

**P.S I'm seriously busy with too many things lately, and though I've never tried having a beta, I could really use one...**

**P.P.S I'm really bad at kraang talk XD**

**\- I don't own TMNT**

* * *

Three turtles were standing right outside an old warehouse, trying to pick the lock with no luck...

"You still think it was smart leaving Don at home?"

"No, but he was too tired to function. I did what was best for him."

"What about what's best for the team? It isn't our fault he stayed up all night. Again!"

"I know Raph, but ever since father stopped breathing, he haven't been himself."

"Well things change, Splinter had to leave us sooner or later."

"...Later had been fine."

"Yeah, but that didn't happen. Come on, it's half a year ago now, he has to move on."

"Right, because you sure did."

That comment made Raphs blood boil.  
Sure he hadn't exactly been an angel the last six months, but he was getting stronger.  
What Donnie did to himself only made him weaker.

"No one's perfect oh fearless leader, of course I miss him, but that won't make him come back."

Leo was getting ready to fight his brother when the youngest placed himself in between them.

"Could you two please shut up about Splinter, he's gone, no reason to keep talking about him."

"Right, sorry Mikey..."

"We won't mention him no more."

"Thanks. So, how do we get in now that D isn't here to pick the lock?"

"That's easy, we make our own way in."

"No we don't, no reason to start an alarm."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"... What about sneaking through the open window?" Leo smoothly pointed upwards.

"Oh. Guess that'll work too."

They took out their climbing claws and started climbing the red brick wall.  
They got to the window and entered the facility.

"So, what are we looking for exactly?"

"Mutated Mutagen. Donnie mentioned something about a warehouse filled up with it."

"And you just guessed this was the place?"

"Well no, I got the address from his computer."

"Then let's get this over with."

They stood on the metal balcony, looking down at a pair of kraang. They were carrying mutagen canisters.

"Well, I only see about three canisters, shouldn't there be more?"

"Shhh, I'm trying to listen!"

"Kraang is ready to transport the mutagen back to Kraang in what humans calculates as, a minute."

"That is good news to Kraang. Kraang will follow Kraang back to Kraang."

They entered a truck, then drove off. The turtles jumped down from the balcony to the floor.

"Great, we came too late."

"Maybe not, look." Leo pointed at a purple slime trail that led out to the back of the warehouse.

"What are we waiting for then, let's go kick some shell!"

"Raph wait, we don't know what's hiding in there!"

"Who cares, whatever it is, it's dead soon!"

"And kraangy!" Mikey reminded him.

"Exactly, that should be reason enough to let it be!"

"Whatever happened to our fearless leader, is he really scared? You gonna pee your shell?  
Come on, how bad can it be? Mikey, you're with me, aren't you?"

"Yeah I'll come... Sorry Leo..."

"You two, come back here! Dammit! Wait, I'm coming too!"

They stealthily followed the trail. It smelled kinda funky, but no one even mentioned it.  
It suddenly ended right in front of a heap of wooden boxes.

"Great, we lost it! Good job Leo!"

"How can we lose something we haven't even seen yet? And why's it my fault?"

"I don't know, maybe because you were too busy chickening out on us!"

"I'm not a chicken, I'm just not gonna risk any of you getting hurt!"

"We do this kinda stuff all the time, and getting hurt is just a part of it!"

"I know but- Wait, What was that?"

They froze in place and listened closely, trying to find the source of the loud slimy sound,  
when a big blue gelatinous monster appeared from behind the boxes.

"Ah shell!"

"What is that thing!"

"Don't know Mikey, but we have to stop it! Look out!"

Raph yelled, as the big blob started firing purple slime at them. Mikey didn't manage to duck in time, and was hit right in the face.

"Eww gross! Get it off of me, get it off of me!"

"Mikey, stop panicking!"

"No, it's inside my mouth, it's inside my mouth! I ate it! I ate purple goop!"

"Focus! The thing's still shooting at us!" Raph yelled.

"I got it guys, stay back!" Leo yelled as he sliced the jelly thing in two with his katana.  
Apparently he had managed to slice something inside of it that made it spatter with the purple substance in such an amount, that you almost could swim in it.

"This is so gross!" Raph yelled, as he tried to get it off his arms and face.

"Guys, it's inside my mouth again!"

"Please be quiet! The things dead."

"So?"

"So, we have no reason to stay here anymore. Let's get home and get a shower."

"What about the truck? We can't just let them get away!" Raph protested as he tried to empty his ears.

"They're long gone now, there's no reason to go searching."

"Then what about you go home, then I'll go search for it."

"That's too risky, we stay together! Besides, if Donnie finds out that we got here by using his laptop without permission, it won't be pretty."

"Yeah, can't we just go home!" Mikey pegged while cleaning his tongue off with his hands.

"Raph?"

"Okay fine! Guess I'm kinda beat anyway."

"Dibs on the shower!"

Raph agreed and they headed home.

* * *

**Early next morning in the lair**

Donnie had been asleep for hours, but finally woke at about five AM.

*Yawn* "What time is it?" He looked at the watch on his night table. "Five? Is it that early?"

Donnie rubbed his eyes, stood up, stretched out a bit, took his arm and knee patches on, and then his bandanna, then leaved his room.  
As he walked into the hall that divided the four bedrooms he heard the sound of a turned on TV, which was weird,  
cause his brothers didn't wake up before at least eight, since the patrols often lasted till about one AM.  
He didn't know how long it had taken them this time though.

He slowly headed into the living room, where he found Mikey on the couch watching cartoon. He looked a bit pale. He decides to sit down beside him.

"Hey Mikey, you up already?"

"I've been up for about an hour."

"Really? How come?"

"My stomach feels funny. Here, try and lie your hand on it."

Donnie lies his hand on his little brothers plastron to be greeted with a loud violent gurgle.

"Can you feel it?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, probably just something you ate. Your stomach is just trying to digest it."

"Yeah, maybe your right."

"Just sit tight, I'll get you some water."

"Thanks."

* * *

Donnie entered the kitchen. He opened a cupboard, took out a glass and filled it with water. After that he found some alka selterz.  
Now that he was in there, he decided to make some coffee.  
He had just started the machine when he saw Raph standing in the door frame. He looked tired.

"Hey Raph, you stayed up all night? You look beaten."

"Yeah, and I feel that way too."

He then fully entered the kitchen, and spotted the glass and pills standing on the table.

"Hey Don, who's the pills for?"

"Mikey, he's not feeling too well."

"Really? But Mike's never sick. You sure he isn't faking it?"

"I don't think it's that bad either, just an upset stomach, though he did look a bit pale."

"Well, tell the goofball to get well soon cause-woe"

Raph stopped mid sentence as a sudden dizziness rushed over him. He leaned on the sink with both hands, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

"Bro, you okay?" Donnie asked as he poured coffee into a mug.

"Yeah I'm fine, felt dizzy for a moment, but it's gone now."

"You sure yo-"

"I said I'm fine!"

"Okay okay, sorry for asking..."

* * *

Don left the kitchen and headed back into the living room. Mikey were now hugging his stomach tightly, head hung low. Donnie sat down beside him.

"You feeling better or worse?"

"Worse."

"What's different?"

"I'm dizzy, and it feels like my stomach is knotting."

"I see... Here, take this."

"What is it?"

"It's medicine, it'll help you feel better."

Mikey looked at him a bit skeptical before accepting it. The bubbling water tasted awful, but he trusted the genius.  
Donnie laid a hand on the younger turtles forehead. He did feel a bit feverish.

"When did you start to feel ill?"

"Some hours after the mission. I didn't feel anything when we were outside, but as we came home, I started to feel really tired."

"Were you the only one feeling more tired than usual?"

"No, Raph was tired too. But it was a long night, guess everyone had a need for sleep."

Another loud rumbling sound came from the orange clad turtles stomach, and a small whimper escaped his mouth.

"Try and lie down, it might help." He did as told and lied down, his head in Donnie's lab.  
Donnie rubbed small soothing circles on his little brothers plastron, which seemed to help a bit.

Then Raph left the kitchen and entered the room. He walked to the couch, and leaned on it weakly.

"Hey Donnie, you got anymore of that medicine of yours?"

"Sure, why? Are you feeling sick too?"

"Maybe a little lightheaded. Not like I can't take care of it myself you know!"

"It's in the kitchen cupboard closest to the door frame , top shelf."

"Top shelf?"

"Yes, is that a problem? Something you want me to get for you?"

"No, that's fine, I'll get it myself." Raph headed for the kitchen again.

"I could help you know, if you weren't so stubborn."

"Just stay with Mikey, I'm not a baby anymore, I can take care of myself."

"hey, I heard that!" Mikey protested.

"Besides, there's no shame in asking for help."

"Yeah whatever."

"Wait, where's Leo?" Donnie suddenly asked.

"I don't know, lucky guess, he's inside the dojo meditating."

"Hey Mikey, I have to leave for a second buddy."

"That's alright, now I got Raph to keep me company."

"Forget it, I aren't gonna entertain you Mikey!" Could be heard from the kitchen.

* * *

Raph was right. Inside the dojo were Leo, meditating as he did every morning, though he didn't seem as concentrated as he used to.

"Hey Leo, you busy?"

"No, I'm not. You may enter." Donnie did as told and sat down beside his blue masked brother, who stopped his meditating.

"You seem unfocused. Is something bothering ya?"

"No not really, just tired."

"You aren't feeling a slight dizziness, maybe a sore head, stomach?"

"uhm, no, I don't think so. Maybe a bit of a headache, nothing more at the moment. Why you ask?"

"What happened last night. Did something happen while on patrol?"

"Well, uhm, we tracked down that place you highlighted on your laptop."

"You looked at my laptop without my permission? That thing is private! Don't you ever touch my things!"

"I know, sorry about that, but none the less we got there, saw the kraang carrying mutagen canisters and then they took off.  
We investigated first floor when a huge blue gelatinous monster threw slime at us. I managed to kill it, but at the end all of us were covered in slime.  
Mikey even managed to eat some of it by accident."

"And why didn't any of you tell me this?"

"You were sleeping, and we believed it wasn't of any emergency."

"Oh well, then I'll happily tell you that Mikey is lying on the couch, complaining about an upset stomach, and Raph is too stubborn as always,  
and won't admit that he's ill too. You're the leader, this is your responsibility! You're the oldest, the one in charge of everything,  
you have to report every possible danger to me, or else I can't help you! So please, if you're feeling any kinda side effects since the mission, tell me."

Leo was quiet for a second before answering. He didn't dare saying he felt sick too, he couldn't be...

"Okay fine, I might be feeling a bit dizzy, but that could be anything."

"Don't you be stubborn too Leo, it's for your own good."

Don could feel the presence of another turtle standing at the entrance to the dojo. He turned around to discover that that turtle was Raphael himself.

"Hey Don, I'm not tall enough to reach it, could you... Maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"...Help me reach it." Raph whispered embarrassed.

"Of course I' will. What's brothers for?"

"Wait, did you just ask for someone's help Raph?"

"Just shut up Leo, I'm not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood..."

"You two, please spare all your frustrations till later. Raph, go sit on the couch, I'll be there in a minute to make a medical examination,  
and Leo, I'll have to ask you to do the same."

Both brothers nodded and did as ordered.

This is gonna be difficult...

* * *

**You liked it? Something I should continue? Leave a review and I'll read it. :P**


	2. Samples

**Thanks to all the favorites, follows and reviews, you are all some cool dudes! I wasn't sure if I dared writing this, but I did :P**

**Now, I didn't no whether they could get a fewer or not, but in my universe they can.**

**I don't own TMNT, if I did, then... I wouldn't be writing this...**

* * *

"Now sit still, and try not to gag."

"Why should I-Ung!"

Donnie stuck a cotton swab down Leos throat. He needed a saliva sample from each of his brothers for research.

"Great, got it."

"How many times haven't I told you, I'm not sick!"

"You might be feeling fine right now, but you never know, maybe you'll suddenly get an outbreak, then you would like to have a cure, right? But for that I'll need samples of your saliva. Mikey, your turn."

"ah-ah, no way that thing's gonna go down this throat!" The orange masked turtle stated while sassily waving his finger.

"Come on guys, could you at least try to cooperate with me?"

"But what if my throat don't like getting suffocating in cotton? You ever thought about that?"

"Mikey, stop being so difficult, you aren't gonna swallow it, just open up!"

"Fine, but just be careful."

Donnie took a new cotton swap, and placed it inside Mikeys mouth. He moved it around a bit, then let it down his throat a little further,  
but stopped immediately when he started making gagging sounds.

"Oh sorry! You okay?"

"Yeah-ugh-fine. "

Donnie then moved on to Raph, who opened his mouth without any fuss.  
Yet again Donnie went too far, and almost choked him with it.

"I think you need some practice with that thing." Leo grinned.

"Hey, I got it didn't I? Now let's move on to the next sample: Blood." Don picked up a sharp syringe.  
"Don't worry it won't hurt. At least not for me."

"I'm starting to think you're enjoying this." Raph said worried.

"Aww, little Raph afraid of a needle?"

"No Leo, shut up!"

"Well I'm not! D, do what you must!" Mikey stretched out his arm, waiting for Don to prick him with the sharp needle.  
He could feel the cold steel touch his skin, and blood slowly leaved the arm and into the syringe.

"Augh, it looks painful, doesn't it Raph?"

"I'm not afraid of blood, I've seen blood before!"

"Yeah it isn't the blood but the needle, right."

"Now Leo, it's your turn."

"Sure." He let out his arm, not even cringing as the sharp end slowly cut through the skin.  
Leo looked at Raph while more blood got sucked up, making the cool one look away, as he suddenly felt dizzy again.

Come on, you can do it, it's not dangerous, it's just sharp and pointy, you've tried far worse, man up! The red masked turtle mentally yelled at himself.

"Now's your turn, give me your arm." Don, as tall as he was, stood beside him with the syringe in hand.

"R-right, just get it over with." He tried to sound tuff, as it was nothing, but on the inside, he felt like a little scared kid.

"Now sit tight, it aren't gonna hurt... much."

"No it's fine I- Holy crud that's sharp!"

"I said sit still, it's not gonna kill yah."

"You seriously still afraid of needles Raphie?" Mikey teased.

"No, I just-AW! Get it out, get it out!"

"Don't move or I promise you'll do more harm than good."

"Just do it! Take whatever you need and get that bloodsucker as far away as possible!"

" You see that Mikey, the big scary Raph is afraid of a tiny needle!"

"And tiny bugs! You think he's scared of ladybugs too?"

"Probably! And butterflies!"

"Princess Raphaella needs his army of pigeons to scare all the bad things away!"

"Yeah, our poor little princess needs protection!"

"Shut up, both of you! I tell yeah, as soon as I get the opportunity, I'll smack both of yah!"

"Oh we're sooo scared!"

"You should be Leo!"

"Guys, stop bickering. Here, I'm done, that wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Was it Raphie?"

"Mikey I warn yah!"

"You can't hit a sick turtle!"

"Yes I can, and I will, as soon as I'm done giving your annoying big brother a Sai up his-ah!"

Raph got up too fast, which rewarded him with a bad migraine. He held his head tight, as if it would make the world stop spinning.

"I think you should stay down Raph, and Mikey, I know laughter is the best medicine for you, but making fun of someone who isn't feeling well isn't nice!" Donnie lectured.

"Sorry D. It didn't really help anyway, more like made it worse." Mikey admitted as he clutched his stomach. Donnie then helped his little brother lie down.

"Leo, you should get some rest too."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not-"

He didn't manage to finish his sentence as his stomach made a loud gurgling sound, making him cringe.

"Was that you bro?" Mikey asked.

"See, I told you, but did you listen to me? No you didn't!"

"Yeah you're right, you're a genius and so on, now excuse me!"

Leo got up from the chair he had been sitting on an ran straight in the direction of the nearest toilet.

"Hey, if you're gonna go, then take this one with you!"

Don threw a clear bottle to Leo, who just about caught it. He then looked at it confused.

"What's this for?"

"It's for samples, you know, uhm... feces."

Leo looked awkward at Donnie, clearly feeling ashamed.

"No way I'm gonna do that!"

"You have to! I know it's embarrassing, but Mikey and Raph will have to do the same."

"We will?"

Leo was gonna protest, but then his stomach complained for the second time, and he had to get going.

"Fine, whatever!"

He got to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut.

Don then continued his medical examination.

"I need to know if any of you have a fever. Here, take these."

He found to thermometers and stuck them in the mouths of his brothers.

"Now, a humans normal temperature is 37o and since we're part human and not just turtles, we're able to get a fever as well."

"We know brainiac, no need for telling."

"Shh Raph, don't talk with your mouth full."

Don waited a minute, then took it out of the red masked turtles mouth and looked at it.

"37,8."

He then took out the other one.

"And 38,1."

"Is that bad?"

"No, just slight fever for your both, but it's still something. Now I'll go see if Leo's okay, call if you need me."

"We will."

* * *

Donnie was standing outside the bathroom, waiting for Leo to finish. It took some time, but at last he heard a flush, running water, and the door opened.

"Bhew, what a smell, did something die in there?"

"Haha, really funny." He answered sarcastic, his voice a bit weaker than earlier.

"I got your sample by the way." Leo gave Donnie the bottle, and both headed back to the living room.  
As soon as the blue masked turtle sat down, he got a thermometer stuck into his mouth too.

"37,9 you stubborn turtle. You actually wanna be sick since you keep your health a secret?"

"No, I just didn't wanna worry you any more than you already were."

"Well stop that, lie down, and get some rest, all of you."

"But Donnie, I'm not tired!" Mikey protested.

"Well, try anyway! If you need me, I'll be in the lab..."

* * *

**know it's a big shorter, but please review, that means a lot ;)**


	3. Taking care of the little one

**So, I'm not a genius, and I had to include some medical indications,  
sorry if they aren't 100% right, I really tried though.**

**You guys have no idea how hard this is to write, I mean it's fun, but hard...  
Might be torturing the turtles a bit...**

**I don't own TMNT or anything else beside the words and the story...**

* * *

The purple masked turtle was sitting in the lab, busy examining the blood samples for a second time.  
He was looking through a microscope, trying to find anything unusual in the blood after centrifugation.

He had already examined the saliva samples, and there had been minimal signs of any unknown toxic.

Based on his measurements, and the white blood cell count being just around 12.500 In Leo, 13.350 in Raph, and 13.725 in Mikey,  
the infection could be both Viral and Bacterial. If Bacterial, then antibiotics would be available and maybe cure them in a matter of days,  
if Viral, then it'll be way harder to cure, since Viruses would be resistant to it, but also less dangerous.

"But how do I find out whether its Bacterial or Viral? This stupid microscope clearly decides to betray me after all these months of use.  
Why now, why couldn't you wait a day or two? Okay, scolding an inanimate object won't help. Guess I'll need a new one."

He leaned back in his chair, unsure what to do next. He had been in there for just about half an hour, which wasn't that long,  
but he had been fast paced, determined to find answers as fast as possible in case the infection were severe.  
He was just about to start examine the last sample, when the sound of dragging feet made him lose his main focus.

When he turned his head towards the direction of the door, the silhouette of a turtle stood in the door frame.

"D, are you busy?"

"Mikey, what are you doing up? Didn't I tell you to go get a nap?"

"I tried, but I couldn't fall asleep."

"What about Leo and Raph, are they up too?"

"No, they're long gone, that didn't take long."

"Then why are you still up? Feeling too uncomfortable?"

"Yeah, it gets worse when lying down. I just, don't feel like sleeping, and I don't wanna be alone.  
Could I maybe stay in here with you? I won't bug yah, I promise."

Don thought about it for a second, knowing that even a sick Mikey would do more harm than good,  
so having him and his curious fingers sitting at his side would probably be a bad idea.

"Okay you may stay, just, try and keep a bit of a distance."

"Right, I'll just sit in the bean bag. Hey could I maybe borrow your laptop?"

"For what?"

"Casey told me about this show called ridiculousness the other day."

"And now you wanna see it."

"May I?" Mikey begged, puppy eyes locked on its pray.

"Yeah you may, here you go." Don gave in and handed him the computer.

"Just be as quiet as possible."

"Hey it's me we're talking about, can't promise anything." The orange masked turtle leaved the desk as weakly as he arrived.

Don continued his research, now with a mildly laughing turtle in the room.

Now it was the, uhm, more private sample. He had to check color, consistency, shape, odor, and the presence of mucus.  
He had to look out for blood, bile and white blood cells too.

He had to go through a microscopic examination, chemical tests, and microbiologic tests, which all felt really awkward,  
but he had to see through it and continue. He managed to work for just about twenty minutes,  
then heard a weak moan and looked in the direction of the bean bag.  
The younger turtle had closed the laptop and placed it on the floor.  
He was sitting at the edge of the gag, hugging his stomach tightly again.

"Hey Mikey, you okay?" Don got up from his chair and walked towards his little brother, who just kept moaning.  
He finally sat down beside him, and began rubbing his hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"You need something? You have to go to the bathroom? Anything?" Donnie looked at him in full despair and empathy. He then placed a hand on his forehead.

"You're burning up! Stay here, I'll find a wet cloth." He had only just reached the door entrance when he heard the sound of a meal coming back up again.

He turned his head and got to see the lovely sight of a young turtle covered in vomit.  
He ran back inside and put his hand on his shell and move it in round comforting movements, as the vomiting continued.

"S-sorry Donnie."

"Don't you apologize for something that's beyond your control."

He finally managed to stop himself, and was now covered in his own hurl.

"You think you can stand up?"

"Yeah."

He did as told, but only managed to keep himself up for about 5 seconds before his legs gave in, and the purple masked turtle had to give him a shoulder to lean on.

"I'm sorry, but you really need a bath now, and with that state that you're in, I fear you can't really do that yourself."

"And the point?" He mumbled feverish.

"The point is, that I'll have to help you. It might get a bit awkward, but it's for your own good."

"That's fine, I don't mind."

Donnie sat his brother down on the closed toilet seat and turned on the lukewarm water.  
He helped his brother out of the knee and elbow pads, for then getting him into the bathtub.  
He used a sponge to carefully rubbing his body free from puke, while Mikey just sat there like a lifeless doll.

"You are a good brother D, I love you." He stated weakly.

"You don't mean that, It's just the fever talking."

"No, I mean I, you are, a good turtle brother." He began talking gibberish as he slowly closed his eyes.

"No please don't fall asleep now, stay awake buddy."

"I can't, I have to sail the ship home."

"Hey focus! Get up and let me wipe you." He managed to get the confused turtle out of the water, dried him and wrapped him into a bathrobe.  
He then led him back into the living room, where the two other turtles were still asleep.

"You wanna stay in here, or do you prefer your room?"

"My room is full of monsters, don't let them eat me..."

"Okay sorry, I got it, you wanna be here."

He slowly helped the younger turtle lie down.

"I'm cold. Who ordered winter?" Don got the point and threw a blanket over him.

"There, anything else."

"I'm tired, I wanna sleep."

"Well, I think that would be the best too. Goodnight little brother."

He was just about to head back to the lab when another voice called.

"Hey Donnie, could you get me a glass of water?" He turned around to face the turtle.

"Of course Raph, I'll go get it right away."

This is getting out of control, maybe I should call someone for help...

* * *

**Who do you think would be the right one to call? Leave a review and tell me what you think...**


	4. A heavy burden

**Update!**

**Sorry for taking so long, but I've been really busy lately.**

**And thanks for all the support, you make this fun to write :)  
This one's gonna be a bit sad, short but sad, so be ready.**

**I don't own TMNT...**

* * *

**"Our hearts are heavy burdens we shouldn't have to bear alone"**

* * *

Donnie came back from the kitchen with a glass of water.

"Here you go Raph, anything else?"

"Yeah, could you maybe, uhm, massage my temples?"  
Raph looked at the taller turtle in embarrassment, and Donnie looked back at him with a questioning look.

"Uhm, I guess I could?"

"Please Donnie, it might help."

Now he's begging too, that's so not Raph. He's getting all whining and fretful.

Donnie sighed and started massaging his temples in soothing circles. Raph closed his eyes and tried to relax.

"Is it helping?" Don whispered.

"A little I think." He answered with a groan.

"Does it hurt anywhere else?"

"Everywhere."

"It hurts everywhere?"

"Yeah..." He sounded like a little kid who desperately tried to explain something,  
but didn't know the right words to do so. It would have been cute if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation.

"Donnie, I'm seeing things..."

"Whatcha mean?"

"I'm seeing spots. It's like I'm looking right through you... What is happening?!"  
Raph started panicking and tried to stand up, but Donnie managed to pin him back down.

"Shhhh, you're gonna wake the others." Donnie whispered.

"It's okay Don, we're already up." Leo acknowledged.  
The purple clad turtle looked at him as he tried to sit up. Mikey was awake too.

"How's the stomach Leo?"

The blue clad turtle let a hand on his plastron and carefully poked it, rewarding him with a sudden wave of pain and nausea.

"Still bad, but stop worrying about me, just help Raph, think he needs you more than me right now."

Donnie nodded as the feverish turtle lashed out and almost hit him in the face.  
"Please Raph, stop fighting me, your headache will only get worse."

"Yeah bro, listen to the genius." Mikey affirmed. He was suddenly standing right beside him,  
almost giving the so called genius a heart attack.

"Mikey, go back and lie down, you're in no condition to walk around." Donnie ordered.

"No, I can help." He reassured weakly. He was shacking all over, and was barely able to stand,  
but it didn't matter, he could still help. He sat down besides the panicking turtle. He then embraced him, and didn't let go.

"Hey bro, listen to my voice. You're gonna be alright, it's just a fever. I'm right here, and so is Donnie and Leo.  
You have to focus, okay, just try and relax. Close your eyes, and breath, slow and steady."

The red clad turtle did as told, and his body slowly started to relax more.  
A minute later he was unconscious, still leaning up against the smaller turtle, who was shacking even more than before.

"It's okay Mikey, you can let go now." Donnie assured.

"No, I can't."

"Yes you can, he isn't gonna wake up."

"No, I'm serious, I can't move my arms, not even feel them. Are they gone? Did someone take them?"  
Mikey looked at the taller turtle in pure horror. Tears starting to run down his pale cheeks.

"No Mikey, no one took your arms. Here, let me help you."  
He moved Mikeys arms away from the sleeping turtle,  
lifted him up bridal style, and let him back down on his part of the couch.

"Y-you sure I didn't lose them?"

"Yeah I am, look, they're right here."  
Donnie lifted both of his arms up in the air to show his little brother that there were nothing to cry about.  
"See? It's gonna be alright."

"I miss master Splinter Donnie..." He whimpered, before closing his eyes.

"Me too little brother, me too..." He covered his brothers weak form with the blanket, and looked in the direction of Leo.  
He was now standing up, clinging to the back of the couch for support.

"You need any help?" He looked at him in concern as he stood up and walked closer.  
His legs were just about to give up, but Leo just continued forward.

"It's fine Donnie, I just have to go to the bathroom, and I can do that by myself." he assured him.  
Suddenly his left leg gave up, but the taller turtle managed to catch him before any accident happened.

"I gotcha. Just lean on me, I'll help you walk." Donnie let his big brothers arm over his shoulder.

"Thanks. It's a good thing you didn't get infected too, if you did, then we wouldn't have anyone to take care of us."  
Leo smiled weakly before frowning. He was feeling short, stabbing jerks in his stomach, which made him flinch every so often.

"... You miss Splinter don't you?"

"I think about him every day Donnie. I just can't believe he's gone."  
Leo looked down as he felt his eyes getting watery. Donnie couldn't help but fell the sorrow, he missed him too, now more than ever.

"You can't take care of us all alone Donnie, I think it's time you call someone." Leo acknowledged.

"No, I can't just ask someone to take care of you, you're my responsibility now."

"We'll only get worse, you have to find the antidote, and we're only gonna slow you down. You call someone, and that's and order."

"Okay I uhm, I'll just call April, she might be able to help." He escorted the blue clad turtle all the way to he bathroom.  
While waiting he took out his T-phone and called her...

She didn't answer it.

That's weird, she always takes it. He tried again, but still got no answer.

He was just about to try again when he heard the toilet flush, water running, and then a loud thud from the inside of the closed door.

"Leo, you okay in there? Bro?" When not getting any answer he hurriedly opened the door, only to be greeted with an unconscious big brother.  
He was lying on the side, body turned away from him. He sat down beside him, letting the back of his hand on the turtles forehead. He was burning up.

"Don't worry Leo, whatever this might take, I'll find an antidote, I promise."  
He could feel his own eyes getting watery, but he made sure the tears stayed there. He couldn't cry, not now.

He lifted his brother onto his shoulders carefully, and reentered the living room.  
He let his brother down, and looked over his sleeping brothers one more time before he leaved and entered his lab.

They all got different symptoms, and they kept changing. It would take a long time to find the cure, but he couldn't give up, he had to cure them.  
They were his everything, a life without his brothers, were like a life without sunshine.

This time he actually started crying, no loud painful sobs, just small quiet whimpers as tears streamed down his pale face.  
What could he do? He was a genius, not a miracle worker. He was just one turtle, and he had to deal with his families misery all alone...

As he sat there on the floor in his dark lab, his T-phone started ringing...

* * *

**Please leave a review, that would mean a lot. Otherwise, hope you enjoyed it ;)**


	5. Stressing the genius

**Update. Oh man, sorry for not updating earlier, I've been kinda busy with other stories and other stuff, and just life in general,  
but here ya go, some more sick turtles for your sick minds XD No, I didn't mean that in an evil kind of way, or maybe a little,  
I mean you're reading about turtles in pain, so I guess we're a bit twisted.  
And TMNT 2012 season 3 episode 1: into the woods are gonna air tomorrow! Who's excited?  
I know I am, and we're gonna see some sick Leo, as in canon.**

**Well, enough talking, hope you enjoy :3**

**I don't own TMNT...**

* * *

"H-hello?" Donnie answered his T-phone.

"Donnie, it's me, April. You called?"

"Y-yeah I did. Why didn't you take your phone April?"

"I'm sorry I was, uhm, kinda busy with something..."

"Oh, I see." Donnie tried to sound as calm as possible, even though he had cried his eyes out just minutes ago.

"You okay? Your voice's a little shaky."

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm cool."

"Then why did you call me? Did something happen?"

"Uhm, you could say that..."

"Donnie, be honest with me, is something wrong?" April demanded an answer.

"No, never mind, sorry for calling you..."

"Donnie, stop pretending everything's fine when it clearly isn't. I'll just come over..."  
She was about to end the call, when Donnie told her not to.

"Okay, I'll tell ya. It's my brothers, something happened to them doing a patrol last night, and I kinda might need your help."  
His voice was now shaking even more than before. He was so afraid she might refuse, and then what?

"Of course I'll help you. Who's hurt? What supplies do you need?"

"No one's hurt, they are uhm, ill." His voice cracked at the last word, and cursed himself for it.

"Oh, then how bad is it? Is it all three of them? What's their symptoms?"

"They all have their own symptoms, that's what makes it so hard. I have to find an antidote,  
but since we're dealing with three possibly different diseases, I might need to make three completely different cures.  
I've already tried to analyze some samples, but there were nothing beyond the ordinary."

"... I'm on my way..."

"Could you maybe buy some Ibuprofen? And some Aspirin? I'll need it in tablets form, but also injection."

"Sure I'll get it right away."

"Thanks April, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, you guys are like a family to me, I would never abandon you." She then ended the call.

Donnie looked at the now black screen of his T-phone.  
He didn't have the energy to stand up, and the cold floor was kinda comfy.  
He had to get back to the main room though, he had to check on them,  
but he just couldn't seem to get himself together yet.  
He was scared. What if he couldn't find an antidote in time? What if one of them got worse?

No, he had to get up and fight, it didn't help giving up already, and now April would come and give them a helping hand.

He finally managed to stand up on shacking legs, and leaved the safety of his lab.

They were sleeping again, or at least they seemed like it.

Donnie checked on Leo as the first. He were having a high fever, but other than that, nothing seemed any different.  
At least not until he examined him further and started listening to his breathing.  
It sounded like he had something stocked in his throat, as he wheezed for every breath he took.

"Hey Leo, you awake body?" Donnie asked as he carefully shook him. He slowly opened his eyes and started whining.

"Donnie, why did you wake me?" The distraught turtle complained as he pulled the blanket over his head.

"your breath is uneven. Do you have any trouble breathing?"

"A little." His eyes peeked out from under the cover.

"Could you maybe sit up, that would make my job easier."

Leo carefully sat up and hissed as a sudden burning feeling appeared in his throat.

"You sound a bit hoarse. Here, open up." Donnie ordered, then stuffed a wood stick into his mouth to examine his throat.  
It didn't take long before Leo started gagging, and Donnie had to pull it out.

"Looks like You're having a larger amount of mucus in your throat, but the samples didn't show any signs of that..."

"Then maybe it wasn't there earlier?" Leo questioned.

"Oh come on that's... Possible? You're gaining new symptoms, but how?  
And how can each one of you have different symptoms, when you got hit by the same goop?  
This makes zero sense, I'll have to take new samples.  
Aw shell, this is gonna take forever, and you might not have forever!"

"Donnie, calm down, it's alright. You don't have to rush it, just take it eas-" Leo got cut off by a sudden coughing fit.  
He hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand and bend over.  
He was feeling a sharp, almost stabbing pain in the chest.  
Donnie was by his side in a matter of seconds and patted him gently on his back.

"What is happening Leo? Can you explain it to me?" Leo didn't answer and simply continued to cough.

"Water, you need water?" Donnie tried strenuously to get some kind of explanation out of him, but Leo wasn't able to answer.

Finally he managed to cough up some mucus, which stuck to his hand.

"Did you get it all? Is some of it still blocking the airway?"  
Donnie gripped Leo's mouth and forcefully opened it to look inside, and almost got his fingers bitten off by the snapping turtle.

"Hey, what was that for?!"

"Donnie please, relax. Yeah I got it, nothings blocking. I could kinda use a tissue though."

"Right, I'll get you one. Some tea too."

"That would be nice, thanks."

Donnie got up and headed for the kitchen to get a paper towel.

When he came back, Leo had managed to cough up even more sputum, some of it running down his mouth.

He sat down beside him and started cleaning his hands.

"Aren't you afraid we might infect you?" Leo looked concerned at his brother, who smiled back.

"I'm not sure this is contagious Leo, you might have a virus, but if I were in any danger of being infected then it would have already happened.  
Besides I didn't find any signs of possible transmission. I'll remember to wash my hands frequently."

"Good." There were quiet for a minute.

"Are you having any new symptoms?" Donnie finally broke the silence.

"M-my chest and head hurts, and, my hands won't stop shacking." His voice was hoarse and trembling.

"So I figured." Donnie acknowledged as he finished cleaning his big bro's slimy fingers and mouth.

"Is it real bad, or just an annoyance?"

"T-the first one, I can barely breath." He answered as he bend forward slightly, hugging his upper body.

"This sounds like asthma, so it might be a lung infection. Sit tight, I'll find a stethoscope."  
Donnie leaved again and headed for his lab.

"Leo, you okay?" Mikey asked while rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just a l-little out of breath. What about you?"

"My arms aren't numb anymore, which is a relief."

"N-no, how are you, all in all."

"Not good really, I feel like someone's stabbing me in my guts."  
The smaller turtle hugged the lower part of his stomach as it started rumbling.

"That doesn't sound good." Leo warned, as his little brother got paler. "You need to, you know?"

"Uh-uh, not yet, it just hurts real bad."

"H-have you eaten anything? It might help."

"Eat? No. Not sure that's a good idea."Mikey made a face of discomfort as his stomach turned again.

"I agree with Leo on this, it might help a bit." Donnie advised as he reentered the room.  
He sat down on the couch and sat the stethoscope on Leo's plastron.

"Now try and take deep breaths." The blue clad turtle did as told, and took the deepest breath he possibly could.  
It backfired as he started coughing again, but Donnie didn't stop the physical exam.  
His chest gave out crackling noises, and his heart rate was above average.

"Donnie do something, he's dying!" Mikey finally yelled up. The purple clad turtle finally picked up an inhaler from his belt.

"Here take this, it should relieve the pressure a bit." He accepted it and inhaled the medicine.

"Guys, stop talking, you're hurting me..." Raph complained from the other end.

"Then it might be better for you to lie somewhere more silent.  
I'm not really sure how good an idea it is to split you guys up, but if the noise is too much for you..."

"But it's so comfy here." The red clad turtle whined.

"Then some earplugs maybe? I'll go find some. And some water for you Mikey."

"What about my Tea?"

"Sure, I'll get you your Tea Leo."

"And pizza?"

"No Raph, no pizza. Some biscuits maybe."

"Aww don't talk about pizza dude, it makes me wanna... D-Donnie, b-bucket..."  
He sat up and bend over as a sudden wave of nausea hit him. His stomach started cramping as he tried to keep it all down where it should be.  
The taller turtle managed to grab the bucket and set it right beneath him just in time, as the smallest turtle violently emptied his stomach.  
Leo got up from his seat and helped the stressed out turtle by holding the bucket.

"I got it Donnie, just go and get the things." The purple clad turtle simply nodded and stood up.  
Leo started making soothing circles on his brother's back with his free hand, and the orange clad turtle managed to let out small whimpers.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Leo promised, but his broken voice made it sound pathetic.

Sometime later Mikey finally stopped and sat back up, sweat dripping down from his forehead.

"It hurts Leo, can't you make it stop please?" He continued to whimper, not able to stop himself.

"No I can't, but Donnie will find a way." He assured him.  
His gaze moved from Mikey and towards Raph, who slowly rocked back and forth, holding on to his head with both hands.

"You okay Raph?"

"No, it feels like my head is falling off, I have to keep holding onto it, then it w-won't fall off." He whispered feverishly.

"Huh? No it won't, that's impossible, just let go off it."

"No! You can't make me! Go away..."

"Raph, stop acting like a child, I understand it hurts, but it won't fall off." He started talking louder, making his throat hurt again.

"Don't yell, please, stop talking, and stop hitting me in the head."

"I'M NOT-" Leo took a deep breath, or as deep as he could, and counted to five  
"Raph, no one's hitting you. You're delusional, and it's probably just the fever, so calm down."

"Huh? You say something?"

"...Never mind." Leo finally gave up and lied back down, not having enough energy to deal with anything.

Raph narrowed his eyes as he tried to focus on the glass in front of him, but somehow missed it each time he reached out for it.

"Hey stay still, stop moving around..." He started feeling dizzy, and his hand was about to go numb.

"Here let me help you." A new voice appeared just behind the couch.

"Huh, who's there?"

"Don't worry, it's just me."

"Me who?" Raph asked confused.

"April." She finally sat down beside the baffled turtle. She picked up the glass and approached him.  
He accepted her assistance, opened his mouth, and let her pour the cold drink down his throat.

"Was that better?"

"It feels wet." He simply stated and closed his eyes.

"I'll take that as a thank you. And you're welcome." She let a hand on his forehead.  
"Oh my, you're burning up! Stay here I'll find you a cold cloth."

She stood up and headed for the kitchen, not expecting to find a Donnie half asleep in a chair, but she did...

* * *

**If you liked it, give a review, if you're exited about season 3, then give a review. **


	6. Worse than the flu

**This was so hard to write, but I finally did it. Please read and enjoy, and leave a review afterwards ;)**

**I don't own TMNT**

* * *

"Hey Donnie, wake up Buddy." April whispered as she gently shook the sleeping turtle .

"Come on Don, I've made coffee." She enticed , and the turtle opened his right eye.

"What kind?"

"The strong kind." April handed him a cup and then leaned against the fridge.

"So, how bad are they?"

"Pretty bad. They're temperatures are above 39oC. Mikey can't keep any food down, Leo has trouble breathing, and Raph is having a bad migraine.  
None of the tests showed any signs of either virus or bacterial infection. I might have to try and take new tests."

"Do you have any idea what this might be? Any change in behavior that might leave a clue?"

"Well they got infected by the same goopy substance, so they might have similar afflictions.  
I do have a theory, but I'm not sure yet." Donnie took a big slurp of his coffee, which gave out a nice warm feeling in his throat.

"So, you having any idea what to do from here?" She asked as she started searching for that cloth she originally came to collect.

"Leo coughed up some mucus. I'll have to examine that. And if my suspicions are true, then I might need a spinal fluid test on too. I'll get that from Mikey."  
Donnie finally stood up and started gathering all the supplies his brothers had ordered.

The Tea for Leo, Earplugs and biscuits for Raph, and water for Mikey.

"You sure you can carry it all?"

"Yeah no problem." Donnie fumbled a bit but quickly got the hang of it.

"How long since all this started?"

"It started this morning, so about eight hours."

"And how long do you have to find the right cure to treat them?"

"I don't know, somewhere between an hour and a week, I'm not sure really as it keeps getting worse. Who knows, it might be deadly."  
The turtle let out a sight as he looked in the direction of the door.  
The red head ripped the supplies out of his hands and placed them on the table, leaving some free space between them.

"Hey, why did you do that? We don't have time for goofing off" He stated.  
He was about to pick them back up when two thin arms curled around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay Donnie, we'll get to the bottom of this, together. You aren't alone in this."  
He accepted the comfort, and gently hugged her back. It felt like time stood still for a moment , as her body heat covered him like a fuzzy blanket.  
It was nice, really nice indeed. He could stand like that for hours, but that wasn't the case, as a sudden outburst rushed him back to reality.

"Donnie, come quick!" It was Mikey yelling.

"I'm coming Mikey, hold on! April get the things!" He then ran off.

* * *

Donnie and April came running out of the kitchen, not ready to deal with whatever the matter might be.  
They were greeted by a shaking orange clad turtle, who looked like he was about to pass out. He was leaning against the wall, right beside the doorframe.

"D-Donnie, It's Raph, something's wrong." Was all he managed to spit out before he slowly slid down the wall and into a sitting position on the ground.

"Mikey, how many times do I have to tell you not to leave the couch?" The genius asked as he helped his brother back on his feet. He then lifted him up bridal style.

"But, I had to find you. You were gone for so long." The small turtle whimpered as the sudden movements made him sick to his stomach.

"I was only gone for a few minutes."

"Don't let go of me!" Mikey pleaded and grabbed his arm. The touch revealed a new clue: cold hands.

As Donnie moved forward he started hearing sounds of gagging and choking.

"Hold still Raph, Donnie's coming." A hoarse voice reassured as the noise continued.

"Leo, is that you? What's happening?" The purple clad turtle practically ran the rest of the way, even though the weak turtle in his arms complained about it.  
April worriedly followed.

"Yeah it's me, I need some help." The genius was met with a sight of fright. The red clad turtle was jerking violently, kicking and shaking with eyes rolled back.  
Leo was trying to hold him down, fearing he might hurt himself. Donnie put Mikey down carefully for then reappearing by his big brothers side only seconds later.

"He's having a seizure! Quick Leo, let go of him! April, help me get him off the couch and onto the carpet."

Leo let go immediately and leaned up against the back of the couch. He was sweating like crazy, leaving the fabric behind him slightly moist.  
April lied the things down on a nearby table, then they carefully picked the cramping turtle up and lied him back down on the floor.  
Donnie then rolled him onto his side, as April placed a small pillow underneath his head. He was barely awake.  
The purple clad turtle sat down beside him, making sure he didn't hurt himself as the jerking continued, followed up by sudden lip smacking.  
The purple clad turtle slowly stroke his upper arm, trying to calm the panicking turtle.

"Hey bro, it's gonna be okay, this might suck, but it isn't dangerous. Just try and relax okay?"

"I-Is he gonna be okay?" The blue clad turtle asked. His breathing was rapid and shallow, his mouth was slightly open, and his eyes looked heavy.

"April, go check on Leo, I think he's getting worse."

April did as told and sat down beside him. She delicately put a hand on his forehead.

"He's burning up." She informed as she put two fingers on his wrist. "And his heart rate is above normal."

"Try cooling him down." He advised and threw a cold cloth her way.

"What about Mikey, you want me to check on him too?"

"If the scenario was slightly different, then yes, but right now I want you to stay with Leo." The leader wanted to protest, but knew they wouldn't obey him as long as his condition was this severe.  
The coldness of the moist fabric made his body twitch slightly, as the coldness shocked his overheated skin.

Donnie finally set his focus back onto the convulsing turtle, who had finally stopped jerking. His eyes wasn't rolled back anymore, but his neck was still stiff. The seizure had already lasted more than four minutes, and it wasn't quite over yet.

"Hey bro, are you coming back to us? Can you hear me?" He was starring at nothing in particular, and suddenly started shaking again, as fluid escaped his mouth.

Donnie reached for a paper towel and started whipping his mouth, making sure he didn't suffocate.

After another minute, the seizure finally stopped, and Raph went unconscious.

The taller turtle stood up for then sitting back down next to April and Leo.

"Hey, how are ya?"

"C-can barely breathe." The blue clad turtle simply answered, sounding like someone who had just run a marathon. He was shacking uncontrollably,  
and a weird raspy sound occurred every time he breathed.

"Can you describe it a bit more?"

"S-someone's s- stabbing me in the chest. H-holding a hand on throat."

"So a stabbing pain in the chest, and something blogging the airway?" Leo simply nodded.

"Here, I got your tea, it might clean the throat bit." He reached out for the now lukewarm tea,  
and then handed it to Leo, who accepted it. He doubly looked at it, not sure he would be able to sink it.

"By the way I'll need a new blood sample-" Leo suddenly gagged and spit out the fluid,  
as the tension in his chest increased, and another coughing fit began.  
Donnie patted him hard on his shell, as his face turned slightly blue. He could hear slime slowly moving upwards, and hastily grabbed a paper towel.  
He coughed up blobs of yellow mucus mixed with blood.

"Oh no, these symptoms, they're developing too fast. I have to get back to the research, I think I know what to look for now."

"And what is that?"

"A bacteria, either Streptococcus pneumonia or Neisseria. I'll have to get the spinal fluid biopsy immediately.  
Could you keep an eye on Leo and Raph for a moment?" She nodded. Donnie anxiously picked a very fragile Mikey up and left the room.  
He curled up in his arms, making him look that much smaller.

"Where are we going?" His voice was shacking, he was clearly scared.

"My lab. You have to go through a very important test that might help me find a cure."

"Does it include a needle, you know I hate needles."

"Sorry bro, but it do include a needle."

"How big?"

"Big enough, but don't worry, I'll make sure you won't feel it."

* * *

They entered the lab, and Donnie put the scared turtle down and onto the operating table.  
He nervously filled a small needle with anesthetics, knowing this wasn't gonna be easy for either him or his brother.

"You might feel a small prick." Donnie warned as he turned him onto his side and stung him in the upper part of his leg. He let out a small feeble cry, then nothing.

"You okay Mikey?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you done yet?"

"Uhm, not exactly." The genius grabbed a small bore and a Bone marrow biopsy needle.

"You feeling anything?" He asked a minute later after pinching his leg.

"No. You promise it won't hurt?" The smaller turtle whimpered.

"You might be a bit sore afterwards. " He answered honest. Mikey closed his eyes as Donnie bored through the outer layer of the shell,  
for then sticking him with the thick metal needle, withdrawing the needed marrow sample. He then covered the hole with Resin.  
Mikey wailed throughout the whole procedure.

"There, I'm done. You may sit up now." He did as told and managed to get into a rather  
uncomfortable sitting position.

"You lied. You promised it wouldn't hurt."

"Could you feel it?"

"Yeah a little bit."

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay... Donnie, I'm feeling weird again. May I sleep now?"

"Could you try and stay awake a bit longer?" The orange clad turtle simply nodded before closing his eyes.

Donnie made a fast examination of his body. His forehead was burning, meaning he still had a high fever.  
Both his hands and feet were cold, meaning poor circulation.

Donnie then examined his arms and found the beginning of a weird looking rash.  
He carefully pressed a glass onto it, hoping it would fade under pressure, but it didn't.

The purple clad turtle was no longer in doubt, he knew exactly what they were dealing with:  
Bacterial meningitis/Septicemia.

They needed a broad spectrum of antibiotics that he didn't have, and they needed them immediately.

"Hey D, what's wrong, you look like someone who just saw a ghost." Mikey informed, looking up at the taller turtle,  
who was clearly in shock. He slowly sat down on the operation table and carefully hugged the smaller turtle.

"It's gonna be okay Mikey, I promise I'll get you all back to health."

"Of course you will, why wouldn't you?"

"Mikey, I want you to understand that what we're dealing with isn't just a flu or stomach bug, it's dangerous,  
and I don't have all the things I need to make you feel better. I'll have to leave the lair for a while."

The orange clad turtle could feel a knot in his stomach as he hugged him back.

"Please Donnie, I don't wanna die." He whined as tears filled his blue eyes.

"You won't die Mikey, I promise."

* * *

**Leave a review and tell me what you think. Am I too Evil? :P**


	7. Mission: Get the meds

**A chapter written from experience, weird but true. I'll tell you guys more about that later...  
BTW, hey guys! Thank you for all the reviews! Special thanks to Doudy 20 who reviews every single chapter,  
and JunjouRomanticafortheWinxoxo who help a lot with the grammars and leaves really long reviews 3 **

**I don't own TMNT...**

* * *

"I'm sorry guys, I really am, but I'll have to leave you for a couple of hours. I've finally figured out  
what you're infected with, but I'm afraid I don't have the right medicine to treat you.  
Now we aren't talking about those normal over-the-counter drugs, we need a heavy dose of strong IV antibiotics. I'll have to break into the nearest hospital to get all the things we need.  
Now I know it's stealing, but it's either that or... Let's just say we don't have any other choices."

Donnie was standing in the living room, busy telling April and Leo what he had told Mikey  
a few minutes ago. Raph was still unconscious , and he had decided to let the youngest stay in his lab.  
The rash on his arm was clearly a blood infection, and he wished nothing more than to stay in the lair with his brothers, just watching over them.  
April sensed that right away.

"Donnie, wouldn't it be better if I were the one gathering the supplies? There's doctors and nurses everywhere, for not talking about patients and visitors.  
It's evening, so they're probably busy."  
April acknowledged .

"April, I'm a ninja, I can handle myself." He replied, not wishing her getting in trouble.

"I know you're a ninja, but unless you forgot, you're also a mutant turtle, what if someone saw you?  
Please let me do this I promise I won't fail."

"Sorry, but I can't risk sending you alone."

"Then I'll go with her." Casey suggested as he entered the lair.

"Casey? Why are you here?"

"I called him half an hour ago, thought you needed some extra help. Hope you don't mind it."

"Huh? No, it's fine, everything 's fine, or actually not fine... How long have you been listening?"

"Long enough to know where we're heading. Come on red, we're out!"

"Now wait a second! You'll need to know exactly what to look for. I'll make a quick list.  
You got your T-phones on ya right?" Both nodded as Donnie wrote a phone message  
and send it. " I just send you a checklist, and it's very important that you get everything,  
I repeat, EVERYTHING on that list!"

"Right, everything, got it." The two teens was about to leave when Donnie yelled : "Take the shellraiser, that's the fastest way to get there!"  
They turned around, gave a thumps up and entered the vehicle.

"Please hurry." Donnie begged as he lifted a coughing Leo up from the couch and headed for the lab.  
This was one of those times he was glad that he made that sick bay some time ago...

* * *

"Okay we're here, what now?" Casey asked as he parked the shellraiser.

"Uhm, I might have an idea." She replied as she looked in the direction of a wheelchair.

"Huh?" Casey asked bluntly.

"Come closer and I'll tell you..."

"The two teens exited the vehicle and headed for the entrance.  
April managed to snatch the wheels in the rush, and forcefully pushed the boy onto it.

"Why me?! Why do I have to be the injured one?" Casey asked.

"Because it was my idea, besides, you're already a bit of a drama queen."

"Drama King I may add. Okay fine I'll do it, but only because I have to..."

* * *

"Emergency! Everyone get out of the way!" April yelled as she stormed inside.

"ohh, I hurts man, everything hurts!" Casey yelled out as she pushed him forward.

"Hey, you can't go that way! A nurse yelled after them.

"In case you didn't hear, this is an emergency! I know what I'm doing!"  
The red head yelled back, overlapping Casey's pained sops.

They slowed down in the hall as they flew past the department of infection, then the cardiology clinic,  
and then the nuclear medicine PET/CT.

They finally arrived at a staff closet. Casey got up and both entered. There weren't much space, but the clothe they were looking for was there."

"Great, Casey grab a coat!"

"There sure isn't much space in here." He replied with a smirk.

"We aren't gonna change in here you moron, you just take it on like a jacket."

"Oh right, I knew that..." They pulled one on an exited.

"Tallulah, really?! Wait a second red, I'll just switch it with a better name-"

"Casey, we don't have time for this! Come on!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him away.  
He couldn't help but look at her nametag. "Sure miss Honor." He giggled.

"Just wait till I tell Leo that someone in this city is named honor, he's gonna flip." April smiled.

"Yeah. Now where are we going?"

"I don't kno-" Their conversation got abruptly cut off when a young man handed Casey a mob.

"A patient threw up in sector four, go clean it up."

"Oh sorry, I'm kinda busy."

"You don't seem busy-" He made a short pause looking at the nametag " Tallailah?"

"Tallulah sir." Casey sassily replied.

"Are you talking back to me?!" The man glanced down at the black haired boy.

"No Sir, I'm going right away!" The man leaved.

"You aren't going are you?"

"No way!"

"I heard that!"

"Aww man! Red, continue without me! I'll be there in a minute!" With that he left.

April continued into a new hall. Here she past a blood bank, then the Triage.  
Finally she entered the observation department. Sick and injured were lying in the halls, waiting to get a room,  
and the smell of medicine was slightly heavier in there than in the other hall.

She suddenly got a message, it was from Casey; "At the intensive care unit, might have found the depot.  
I'll write back if I'm missing something. Where are you?"

April was about to message back when a lady called after her.

"Excuse me miss, but could you please help me?" She pointed at herself as in doubt whether it was  
her she wanted or another. The old lady simply nodded. April entered the small room.

"What do you need me for?"

"Could you please get this rail down for me? My doctor told me I was ready to go home, but it's hours ago."

"Uhm, I don't think I'm allowed to do that without a permission from this doctor first."

"Oh, but he won't mind dear."

"Sorry, but I can't. I'll tell the doctor your waiting."

"Thanks Miss. Tell me, aren't you a little too young to be a nurse"

"I'm twenty-five, so no. Now I really gotta go."  
She left the room and headed upstairs to where Casey was waiting, while writing; "On my way."

* * *

Donnie was sitting in the sick bay, just watching over his brothers while waiting for Casey and April to come back with the meds. Raph was still unconscious,  
though his hands and legs would start shacking once in a while. Mikey was having a restless sleep, and would kick his blanket off every ten minutes.  
Only Leo was still awake, since his lungs wouldn't allow him to lie down for long.  
His coughing fits was getting worse, but he tried to suppress them, as his throat was getting sore.  
It was only making it worse though, as the mucus started building up inside his lungs, leaving a feeling of tightness.

His arms was crossed tightly around his chest as he slowly rocked back and forth,  
trying to relieve the pressure. He was freezing and sweating at the same time, and his fever was still high.

Donnie had found the old asthma mask they used to wear when they were toddlers.  
Both him and Leo had been dealing with severe breathing difficulties at the age of two,  
but as soon as they turned three, gone it was. It was mostly when they ran around,  
or did something strenuous. Whenever they had a fit, Splinter would place the turtle on his lab  
and cover his mouth with the mask. He would sit like that till their breathing went back to normal.  
It was too big to fit them probably back then, but it worked.

The thing had been hidden away for years, only collecting dust,  
but they had decided to keep it just in case they would end up needing it in the future,  
much to the purple clad turtles relief.

He knew Leo was suppressing the sickness, but what could he do? Tell him to cough harder?"

"Hey Leo, take some more water." Donnie handed the sick turtle a glass, but he didn't take it.

"N-no, its fine, I'm not thir-thirsty..." He replied as he clenched his teeth.

"You're gonna dehydrate, please accept it." He begged, still holding the glass.

Leo looked tiredly at him, but accepted the fluid.

"Now drink it slow and steady." The genius advised. Leo could barely hold onto it as his hands shook too much.

"I-I can't h-hold it, I-I'm gonna drop it."

"Then let me do it." He grabbed the glass and moved closer.  
The blue clad turtle let out a few muted coughs before Donnie started pouring water down his throat."

"S-sorry for being needy."

"Being sick and not being able to care for yourself doesn't make you needy,  
and you shouldn't apologize for it. Caring for you guys isn't bothering me,  
the only thing that bothers me is not having the right meds."

The orange clad turtle in the nearby bed started twisting and turning more violently,  
and managed to get the genius attention pretty quickly.

He gave Leo one last look before walking away. Leo leaned forward, arms around his chest again,  
still suppressing the urge to clear his throat.

"Hey Mikey, what's going on?" The purple clad turtle asked his twisting little brother.  
He simply let out a whimper, lying a hand on his lower abdomen. "The stomach again?"  
He nodded. Donnie took grabbed a chair and set it next to his bed.

"Now tell me exactly where the pain is located." He didn't answer.  
The genius placed a hand on his plastron, carefully tapping different places.  
A rumbling sound and a small cry was heard when he got to the lower part.  
The smaller turtle crossed his legs slightly and curled up.

"Please, I'm just trying to help you, tell me what's happening."  
Donnie begged as the pained look on Mikeys face got worse.

It wasn't before the sheets got soaked that he realized what was going on.  
His bladder had failed and he hadn't been able to hold it back.

"Sorry, I don't know what happened..." The freckled turtle apologized still holding his stomach.

"It's okay, we'll just change the sheets. You think you're done?"

"I don't know." He answered embarrassed.

"Hey it's fine, don't worry about it. You think you're able to stand up?"

"No." He answered honest.

"Then I'll carry ya. Leo, you okay with sharing your bed while I change the cover?"

"No, it's fine." He smiled weakly as Donnie placed Mikey by his side.  
'Note to self, message April, hopefully they haven't leaved yet...'

He gave the red clad turtle a quick glance as he fixed the bed.  
He was lying completely still now, not moving a single muscle.  
He wasn't sure whether that was a good sign or a bad sign.

'Why guys, why did you go there? More importantly, why didn't you wake me up before leaving?  
I could have warned you, told you it wasn't safe. Sure It was me who tracked the place down,  
but we weren't supposed to go there. I'm so sorry guys, I'm so sorry...

They'll come back soon, then everything's gonna be alright...

* * *

"I'm here! It took some time, but I'm here." April panted after running up the stairs.

"Great, take this." Casey handed her a plastic bag filled with intravenous antibiotics and other stuff.

"So, we got it all?"

"No not yet, we still need the IV stands."

"And they aren't in there?"

"Nope, but I think I know where to look."

"Oh great... huh?" She looked at her T-phone. One new message. It was Donnie.

"Casey listen up, we need anticholinergics too. Something about incontinence."

"No worries, it's in here too." He took the meds and then they leaved the depot.

"Okay, where do we go now?"

"right down this hall..." They walked past a room or two before the boy stopped.  
Right there in the middle of nothing stood a bunch of stands.

"Great, now how do we get them downstairs?"

"Uhm, the elevator?"

"Oh right, the elevator, I forgot about that."

"Now let's get out of here before someone blows our cover!"  
Casey ordered, and out they were. Time was running out, so much they knew,  
but what they didn't know was that someone had been keeping an eye on them from a distance...

* * *

"We're back, and we got all the things on the list!" April declared as she entered the lab.  
She and Casey both emptied the bags on a nearby table.

"Good, we don't have much time! I'll set the IV's up immediately!" Donnie replied in a hurry.

"You think they'll make it?" The teenage boy asked as he looked in the direction of Raphael.  
It was weird seeing his best buddies being that ill. It had all happened so sudden.

"Yeah of course they will, it might take some time, but they'll recover, they have to."

Suddenly two known voices was heard from the doorframe.

"Aw look, the reptiles aren't feeling too good today."

"Well, that just makes our job much easier, doesn't it? I'm not complaining."  
All three teens looked at the entrance in horror.

"Rahzar?! Fishface!?"

* * *

**Cliffhanger! :O :O  
Now the experience in this was when April and Casey ran around the hospital pretending to be nurses. I've tried something close to that.  
It started with me looking for ice cream, and somehow I managed to walk through half the hospital.  
The patients kept asking me favors like getting them a vase or cookies or water,  
and I had to tell one of them that I didn't have the right to let them out of bed XD It was so weird...  
**

**Well leave a review and tell me what you think.  
Side note: how do you guys feel about the show being on hiatus again?**


	8. A paralyzing experience

**So, I actually had a day off, making this update possible ^^**

**A lot is happening in this one, therefore it might seem rushed,  
but I actually spend some fair time writing it. You might even find it  
slightly longer. Also, this fanfic will be fairly long, but not above 50 chapters.  
If you find some errors, tell me and I'll try to fix it.**

**Remember to leave a review, it keeps me going. :P**

* * *

The enemy were just about to enter when Donnie hit the panic button,  
making the heavy metal door shut close and the lights turn off.  
It was pitch black for approximately five seconds before a red light illuminated the lab.

"Cowards, open up or I swear I'll cut you all into tiny turtle pieces!"  
Rahzar yelled as he used his claws to cut through the metal.

"I don't think scratching at the door like a cat is gonna help."

"You useless piece of a salmon, get to work or I'll bite your head off and give it to Tigerclaw!"

"No way you would, we're a team, you can't kill me!"

"I bet a certain tiger would love to feast on you, nothing beats fresh fish..."  
Fishface looked at him in horror before sinking his teeth into the metal.

"What are we gonna do now?!" April asked Donnie who was busy overlapping the gaps.  
They were a lot stronger than he remembered.

"I, I don't know! You two aren't strong enough to carry a mutant turtle alone are you?"

"Is pulling them by the shell allowed?"

"I don't care how you do it, just get them out of here, carefully! I'll try and buy you some time!"

"No way Donnie, where would we go?!"

"The emergency exit will lead you straight into the sewers! Now go, I'll find you later!"

Both April and Casey nodded before heading for the medical beds.

"Okay red, if I take Leo and Mikey, would you be able to take Raph?"

"I don't know, isn't he the heaviest?"

"At least you'll only have to deal with one!"

"Guys hurry!" Donnie was now leaning against the door, using all his strength to keep them out.

"Okay I'll try, just help me get him off the bed first, can't risk dropping him."

By working together they managed to lower all three turtles out of bed and onto the ground.

"Ahh I can't hold them out much longer! Get out!"

They hurriedly grabbed the turtles and pulled them out through the emergency exit as fast as possible,  
and just in time, as Rahzars claws finally managed to cut through the door, making it fall completely apart.  
The final slice had managed to cut through Donnies shell too, making him fall to the floor in pain.  
Right outside stood two very unpleased mutants.

"Hehe, hi guys." Donnie nervously greeted for then being lifted by the head.

"Where are your brothers!"

"Huh, what brothers?" He muttered through the palm covering his face.

"Tell us or Fishsticks here will bite your toes off, one by one."

"I'm not gonna tell you anything dog breath!" Donnie snapped,  
making the larger mutant hammer him into a wall, shell first.

"Aww, that hurt!"

"Tell me, now!"

They're sick Bradford. It's an contagious infection,  
and if you as much as touches one of them, you'll get infected too!"

"You're lying!" Rahzar yelled as he shoved him into the wall for the second time.

"They're dying you idiot! Why try to kill someone who's already doomed?!"  
The turtle yelled with hatred.

"Then why aren't you sick?"

"Who says I'm not infected?"

"Clearly you won't cooperate. Fishstick, go find the rest, I have some turtle soup to prepare..."

"No thanks, I'm not risking anything!"

"Good choice." Donnie gave him a thumps up, only rewarding him with another wall smash.

"Shut up! And you, go, now!" With that fishface headed for the exit,  
the same exit April and Casey had escaped through only minutes ago.

"Get ready to die turtle." Rahzar held his hand in the air, ready to strike,  
when Donnie spit him right in the face.

"Ewww! You little bastard!" As Rahzar backed off a bit,  
the purple clad turtle managed to bite into his arm, making him loose his grip.  
Donnie felt to the ground with a loud thud.

"You won okay, you happy now? The least you could do now is leave us alone to die!  
There is no cure, we'll be gone in a matter of hours. Go tell it to your precious master."

The overgrown dog narrowed his eyes as if in doubt, but that quickly changed to a wide smile.  
"Fine, may your death be filled with extreme pain and suffering."

With that he started trashing the place, starting by pushing the desktop over.

"Oh great, you killed my computer, bravo." Donnie commented from the floor.

"Hey, what's this?"

"No don't touch that!" The purple clad turtle yelled too late,  
as he started throwing the chemicals around.

The lap was a complete mess when he finally stopped.

"You better be dead when I come back, or I'll make sure to kill you myself..."

With that he left the lair.

The genius tried his best to stand, but the deep slash in his shell stopped him.  
The idiot of a dog had managed to cut him just right,  
and now he couldn't move without feeling extreme pain.  
Well at least his brothers managed to get away...

That thought died fast when he heard someone scream out.  
He managed to stand by leaning himself against his fallen desk,  
for them moving himself in the direction of the screaming.

"Hey Fishstick, l-leave them alone!" Was all he managed to yell out before the pain took over,  
making him fall back down to the floor where he stayed.

...

"Let go off me you disgusting mackerel! Donnie!"

Fishface was holding a firm grip on April, who tried her best to get loose.

"Shut up girl, I'm not here for you!"

"Then let go off her!" Casey yelled as he hit him in the head with a metal pipe,  
sending him right to the ground.

"Well that was easy." He acknowledged as he dusted his hands off.

"Yeah, a little too easy... Come on, we gotta get out of here!"  
April grabbed the back of Raphs shell and started pulling, and so did Casey.

They hadn't been walking for more than a minute before Casey stopped up.

"Why are you stopping? Is someone following us again?" April asked worried.

"I think I heard a whimper." They were quiet for a moment as they listened.

"Well It's not Raph." She informed. He looked down and realized that Mikey was, in fact,  
the one complaining. He let go of both turtles and sat down beside him.

"Could you stop pulling us around, you're making me nauseous."

"Sorry buddy, it was kind of an emergency."

"Huh? I don't remember any emergency. Where's Donnie? I need Donnie..."

"He's on his way, don't worry." April reassured as she continued forward.

"Hey red wait a second. Are you sure he's following?"

"Well yeah he said he- wait..  
I think you're right, Donnie might be in serious trouble! We gotta go back!"

"Right. You ready to continue buddy?" Casey asked as he grabbed the top of his shell.

"No, I'm not feeling good, can't we stay here?"

"No we can't stay here Mikey." April reminded him.  
If the scenario had been just slightly different, then sure,  
but right now the time was against them, so a break didn't seem appropriate.  
"We aren't too far okay, just hold on a bit longer..."

"But moving hurts!" The smallest turtle started whining as Casey moved him slightly.

"Hurts where exactly ?" He looked at the human boy in pure confusion.

"I... I don't know, I just, I feel weird, in my stomach..."

Both teens looked at each other and nodded.

"Just try and ignore it for now, we can't do anything about it..."

With that they continued walking.

A sudden wet feeling made the freckled turtle nervous.  
carefully he laid a hand between his legs. The answer leaved him in utter shock.

"Leo, you awake? Please, it's important!"

"Sure Mikey, what is it?" The leader asked weakly as he opened his eyes.

"This." He showed him his hand. The older turtles eyes doubled in size.

"Stop! " Leo suddenly cried out.

"What? what is-Holy cheese that's a lot of blood!"  
Casey yelled up, making April freeze in terror. "...Red, I think we have a problem..."  
April let go off Raph to see what was going on. "Oh my..."

Mikey was bleeding from the lower part of his shell,  
and a trail of blood had followed them a good amount of their way back.

"Mikey, no wonder it hurt."  
She admitted as she sat down beside him and lied a hand on his plastron.

"A-am I gonna die?"

"No, you aren't gonna die, we'll take good care of you... Does it hurt a lot?"

"What hurts?... Where am I? Why's there two of you?"

"? Mikey, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"F-fingers?"

"What's your name?"

"Huh?"

"Casey we gotta get back right now!"

...

April and Casey uneasily entered the destroyed lab. Donnie was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened in here?! Donnie!"

"Rahzar is what happened..." A tired voice replied.

"Donnie!" She ran in the direction of the voice only to find him lying on the floor.

"Hey April..."

"You're hurt! "

"No it's fine, really, it isn't that bad.." He assured her as she turned him around.

"He cut through your spine, how is that being fine?"

"Just, get some duck tape, we'll patch it up. It'll heal in no time."

She found the duck tape and plastered it to his cracked shell. "Hey, are they okay?"

"No, Mikey is bleeding badly, he needs your help."

"Wait, Mikey's bleeding? From where?!"

"From the, uhm, lower part."

"That's not supposed to happen, we gotta- AH!" He tried standing without luck.  
"Rahzar will be back with the foot clan any minute now!  
I told you guys to escape, why did you come back!"

"We couldn't just leave you here, you're family, and family sticks together."

"Really? You think of us as family?"

"Yeah, you're all like brothers to me."

"But I'll only slow you down. your apartment is the closest from here,  
and yet it'll take at least two hours for me to get there.  
As fast as this is developing, they might die in the process."

"What are you saying, that we just leave you again? No way!"

"Then what do you suggest?" All three looked in the direction of the shell raiser.

"... That could work..."

...

"April look out!" Donnie yelled from the back of the car.

"I'm doing my best, don't be a backseat driver!"

"I'm the one having a drivers license, why couldn't I be the driver?" Casey complained.

"Because, you're gonna hit something in the process."

"And she isn't?"

"At least she's trying to avoid it!"

"Sure, I drive through a shop window once, and suddenly I'm banned from ever driving again!"

"You almost killed the cashier!"

"Yeah, but I didn't!"

"Could you guys shut up, I'm trying to drive here! Have you inserted the IV's yet?"

"Yeah, they're now receiving the antibiotics."

"Well that's great and all, but how do we get them upstairs when stuck to an IV stand?" Casey asked.

"We'll just take the bags out and replace them when we get to the apartment."

"Well sure that could work."

"We'll have to go several times though."

"And how are you planning to get up the stairs?"

"Walk. It's not like I'm totally disabled."

"Walk? You weren't even able to walk to the shell raiser, you're pretty much paralyzed."

"Well true, but only temporary.  
Sometimes I'm able to wiggle my toes, and there's nothing wrong with my arms.  
Who knows, I might be up and running in a matter of minutes!"

April thought about it for a moment before answering:  
"Okay fine, I'll let you take the stairs, but only if you're up for it."  
April turned her head to give him a warm smile.

"Thanks, now look at the road please!"

"Oh right, sorry."

The purple clad turtle looked back down at Mikey who were resting his head in his lab.  
He had just finished installing the drip when the freckled turtle started to move uncomfortably.

Donnie took out a moist cloth and started cleaning his little brothers lower part clear from blood.  
The coldness made him flinch, and small whimpers escaped his mouth, as the pain worsened.

"Sorry bro, I know it hurts, but it has to be done, it'll take some time before the medicine kicks in."

"How much time exactly?" Casey asked.

"I'm not sure, an hour maybe. How far are we?"

"We'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

Everyone went quiet for a minute, making the car engine, the faint moans,  
and Leos irregular breathing the only sounds present.  
No one had anything to say at the moment...

...

"D-Donnie, are you there?" A confused Leo asked as he blinked repeatedly.  
He had been absentminded for a fair amount of time, only speaking gibberish,  
As the loss of air made him slightly lightheaded.  
He had been pretty stable for a while,  
no coughing, only tiredness and confusion.

"Yeah, I'm right here, no worries."

"Why did you put a snake in my arm?"

"It's not a snake, it's an intravenous drip feed, it'll help you get better."

"But I don't feel better."

"No but you will. I only installed it some minutes ago, it'll take some time before it starts working.  
We just gotta be patient."

Leo nodded faintly and pointed at Raph. "What about that, is that supposed to happen?"

Donnie looked at Leo confused, then realized what he meant.  
The red clad turtle was having a severe nose bleed, which didn't seem to stop any time soon.

"Paper, we need more paper!" The genius hurriedly found a paper towel and ripped it apart to stuff it up his nose. "You awake? Can you hear me?" He got a low feeble mumble in return.

"Hang in there buddy, I'll get you something for the headache." Donnie took out a bottle of prednisone.  
It was hard to get him to swallow it, but it succeeded eventually.

A sudden sneeze made Donnie turn his head back to Leo, who was holding his nose.

"You okay Leo?"

"No, my chest is burning, my head is pounding, my eyes stings,  
my whole body aches, and now my nose is running too."

"Hey let me look at it." The purple clad turtle removed the older turtles hand. What he found wasn't slime.

"Leo your bleeding too! Hold on, I'll get you some paper!" Donnie reached out after the paper towel,  
but the sudden fast movement was too much, as his shell gave out a loud crack.  
He could feel the pain coming back stronger than earlier, as he found himself unmovable.

"Hey what's happening back there?" Casey asked concerned as he looked backwards.

"I, I can't move..." Donnie responded with slight pain in his voice.  
Casey noticed immediately and hurriedly jumped over the front seat.  
He then sat down beside him. "Anything I can do?" He asked as he made him lie down carefully.

"L-Leo is bleeding, get him some paper."

The boy did as told and helped the leader in blue control the bloody nose.

"Anything else?"

"Just, give me some pain killers will yah?" Casey nodded and started searching for the bottle.  
He had just opened it when April drove over a bump,  
making the pills fly into the air and onto the floor."

"Aww man, sorry about that!" Casey apologized as he started picking them up.

"It doesn't matter, just hand me one!" Donnie snarled. He couldn't be immobile at a time like this.

The boy immediately placed a pill inside the turtles mouth. He had no problem swallowing it.  
He tried to sit back up, but it was pretty much impossible. He was utterly stocked.

The genius moaned as he looked in the direction of April. "How far are we?"

"Actually we're here." The red head reported as she stopped the machine.  
"You can't walk in that condition Donnie, you'll need assistants."

"Yeah, I guess. Just try not to drop us." The purple clad turtle advised.

"We'll be careful." With that she opened the front door and jumped out.  
She opened the back door from the outside and grabbed Leo as the first one.  
She held him underneath his shoulders as Casey grabbed his legs.

"Is this position okay with you Leo?"

"It's fine, thank you."

Slowly they managed to get him out of the shell raiser and in through the front door.  
They then climbed the long staircase.

It took then about fifteen minutes to get all four turtles into her apartment,  
Donnie being the last, but it succeeded eventually.  
Both teens were breathing heavily as they sat themselves on the floor,  
since all the furniture now was occupied.

"Okay let's never do that again..." April thought out loud as she massaged her shoulders.

"Yeah, seriously, you guys are heavy!" Casey agreed as he stretched his back.

"It's all in the shell." The purple clad turtle acknowledged as he unintentionally closed his eyes.

April let out a faint smile as he stood up and started covering every single turtle with a blanket.

"Sleep well guys, I promise I'll keep an eye on you tonight."

With that she turned the lights off...

* * *

**Reviews are highly appreciated, so please leave one.  
It doesn't have to be long, just the fact that your reading this  
and leaves a comment makes my day that much better :D **


	9. Donnie's nightmare

**I felt inspired, so here you go, two chapters in two days.**

**This is gonna be a creepy chapter and will be filled with creepy rhymes and the mention of death. If this is too much, then skip to the end and then continue to next chapter.**

**Rhymes include: Pop goes the weasel - Three blind mise - Ring around the Rosie – little bo beeb - Oranges and Lemons.**

**I don't own TMNT...**

* * *

'Poor little Donnie, can't move...'

'What a shame… His family is ill, and he can't help them.'

'It sure is sad… Let's sing for him! That will make him feel better!'

'What a delightful idea, he'll enjoy it I bet!'

'What about some rhymes, helping him wet his bed.'

"Huh? Where am I? Who's talking?"

'Look at him, all alone and confused.'

'Don't be afraid, we're harmless.'

"Then show yourself!"

'Isn't he cute yelling like that.'

'He is, cute and scared.'

Donnie was sitting all alone in a dark, iron smelling room. His body was unmovable  
as if someone or something was holding him down. The only company he had was three unknown kid voices that seemed to find it fun to torture him.

"Hey, let go of me, I-"

His sentence was cut short as a cold zipper somehow zipped his mouth shot.

'Shhh, don't be rude, we're just having fun!'

The voices were laughing, were they laughing at him? Probably.

'Hey, let's sing for him! That should cheer him up.'

'But he's a genius, they don't like singing.'

'Too bad, he doesn't have a choice.

A faint melody slowly increased. Somehow he seemed to know it,  
like a song from his childhood, yet It didn't sound as soothing as he remembered...

_"Half a pound of antibiotics  
Half a pound of illness  
That's the way your brothers will go,  
Down goes the turtles._

_You saw it coming but didn't believe,  
Somehow you weren't ready,  
That's the way your family died,  
Down goes the turtles."_

_Leo's got the whooping cough,  
and Mikey's got the measles,  
that's the way the story ends,  
Death meets the turtles!"_

_'_Great rhyme my dear brother , I'm proud of you.'

'Me too, lets sing another!'

'It's is my turn, I have a good one prepared.'

'I'm not sure he's ready, you might make him scared.'

Another tune started, and I closed my eyes.

_"Three sick boys, three sick boys,  
see how they run, see how they run,  
They all ran after the enemy, they all ran after the enemy,  
Three sick boys, three sick boys,  
who poisoned them all with a deadly disease, who poisoned them all with a deadly disease,  
three sick boys, three sick boys,  
see how they die, see how they die!"_

He opened his eyes in panic, looking around for his brothers, but there were still nothing but darkness. Donnie was having enough, he couldn't take it anymore. Whoever did this was torturing him. Suddenly the zipper opened, and he was able to speak again.

"Shut up, all off you! My brothers aren't dead!"

'Sounds like he needs another song to calm down.'

'We'll do that with honor, he's our special guest after all.'

Once again a melody appeared, as creepy as ever as the kids started singing in union.

_"Ring-a-round the Rosie,_  
_A pocket full of posies,_  
Achoo! Achoo!  
_We all fall down..._

_Ring around the Rosie,_  
_What do you suppose,_  
_We can do,_  
_To fight the darkness, in which we drown"_

Donnie flinched when something started dripping on him. Was it blood? He could hear giggling from the distant as it dripped down on his face and shoulders. It ran down from his beak and into his mouth. It tasted like iron, there was no longer any doubt; blood was dripping from somewhere. He felt like gagging, and the nausea only worsened when he heard his own voice in the distance.

_"Ring around the Rosie,_  
_This evil thing, it knows me,_  
_Lost ones around me,_  
_I can't fall down..."_

He suddenly found it hard to breathe, as if the oxygen was fading away slowly, arms holding onto his chest and bulling him down.

_"Little Donnie has lost his Team_  
_And doesn't know how to find them._  
_Leave them alone and they'll come home,_  
_Bringing their tails behind them._

_Little Donnie fell fast asleep_  
_And dreamed he heard them screaming,_  
_But when he awoke, he found it a joke,_  
_For they were all still sleeping._

_Then out he took his needle,_  
_Desperate to safe them._  
_He tried indeed, but it made his heart bleed,_  
_For they left their tails behind them."_

At the last note, he felt the arms let go of him and jolted up, only to hit his head and fall back onto his shell. Was he buried alive? Was that why he was having trouble breathing?

'Time is ticking Donnie, time is fleeting fast.'

'They might still be breathing, but not for long. Soon we'll be the ones to burrow.'

He placed a hand on the coffins ceiling and pushed it, but it was no use, there were no way to escape. Suddenly, as if on cue, the ceiling began to move downwards.

'Time will be their death.'

'Watch as they take their very last breathes.'

"No please, I need more time! Give me more time!" He yelled in horror as the wet box got smaller, slowly squeezing him.

'It appears he's having problems waking.'

'Then let's sing him back to a world of aching.'

"Please, no more singing! And stop rhyming it's freaking me out!"

'He thinks he can stop us, should we tell him the truth?'

'My dear you're dreaming, we're trapped inside you.'

"W-what?"

'_Here comes a candle to light you to bed_  
_And here comes a chopper_  
_To chop off your head!_  
_Chip, chop, chip, chop_  
_The last one is dead!'_

_Here comes a candle to light us to bed  
And here comes a chopper  
To chop off our heads!  
Chip, chop, chip, chop  
The last one is dead!'_

Donnie woke up with a sudden, cold sweat dripping down his from his forehead. He was soaked, but thankfully it wasn't blood.

His eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness as he looked around the room. They weren't dead, they were just sleeping, the meds would cure them in time. Time, it would take time, but time would cure them, not kill them...

His thoughts got interrupted when he heard the sound of wheezing coming from the nearby couch. That was the couch where Leo were laying, and he sounded pained.

_"Little Donnie fell fast asleep  
And dreamed he heard them screaming,  
But when he awoke, he found it a joke,  
For they were all still sleeping."_

The rhymes was on constant repeat inside his head. Maybe the voices were true maybe he missed something important.

The wheezing suddenly stopped.

"L-Leo?"

Donnie tried to stand, but fell to the ground.

_'Poor little Donnie, can't move...'_

"Shut up! You aren't real!"

'It sure is sad…_.'_

The voices were getting louder as the dream slowly found its way into reality. He started crawling his way to the couch military style, a ringing tune inside his head:

_"Ring-a-round the Rosie,  
A pocket full of posies,  
Achoo! Achoo!  
We all fall down..._

_Ring around the Rosie,  
What do you suppose,  
We can do,  
To fight the darkness, in which we drown."_

Finally he made it. He managed to pull himself up an onto the couch.

He let a hand on his brother's plastron only realize that his heart weren't beating...

_"He tried indeed, but it made his heart bleed,_  
_For they left their tails behind them."_


	10. Wake up buddy

**Hi again. So, you guys don't like cliffhangers I see XD  
Too bad, because it makes things more exciting.  
(See that, I wrote exciting right :P)**

**But I can tell ya all, that I would never kill any of the guys,  
so you won't have to worry about that (or would I?)**

**Just a reminder, they aren't wearing their gear, so no knee or arm pads,  
and no belts. I don't know whether they're wearing their masks or not.**

**Now here you go, chapter 10. And a new tmnt episode tonight,  
starring the speed demon :O**

**Please keep reviewing, it gives motivation. **

**I don't own TMNT... **

* * *

_'What would you do, if someone was dying? Would you call somebody, would you panic?  
Maybe you'll try giving them first aid. What if that didn't work?  
You're all alone, it's dark, and you're sibling just stopped breathing.  
You can't call for an ambulance, because you aren't allowed at the hospital.  
You're outlawed, a freak, no one would ever help a freak like you.  
You're siblings life now lies in your hands, and yours alone...'_

* * *

Donnie was struggling to get his partly dead brother back to life.  
Doing CPR was hard enough at it was,  
but getting through the plastron made it almost impossible.

"Come on, breath!"

He forcefully opened the breathless turtles mouth and started giving mouth-to-mouth,  
trying to blow life back into his weak cold body.  
When that didn't work he continued to push down on his chest.

"Please, don't die on me, I need you to stay here!"

The genius was panicking by now.  
He had been at it for about a minute and a half, but nothing changed.

"Come on, come on, COME ON!"

He tried giving mouth-to-mouth for the third time, rewarding him with a small wheeze.

Donnie jumped slightly in chock as Leos chest started moving again.

"You're alive... You're alive!" Donnie yelled as he carefully hugged his ailing big brother.

"C-can't, breathe..." Leo acknowledged hoarsely.

"Trust me, you're breathing.  
Here, lets elevate the pillows slightly."  
The purple clad turtle helped his brother lying more elevated, making breathing a bit easier.

"Now stay conscious while I find the oxygen mask."  
As the shock slowly faded he remembered: he couldn't walk.

'Okay no problem, I'll just call April, or Casey maybe?...'  
He reached for his T-phone only to realize it wasn't there.

'Great, just great...'

Donnie looked across the room when he got his eye on the bag which contained the mask.  
Slowly he got off the couch and started crawling towards it.

He could hear Leo wheezing from behind him, which only made him crawl that much faster.  
He moved past both Raph and Mikey before he got to the back pack lying near the window.

Donnie grabbed it and turned around. The dusty floor made his nose tickly,  
and he was only half the way back when he let out a sneeze strong enough to  
send a rush of pain down his spine. He ignored it as he continued forward.

He was energized by pure adrenaline by now.

His back was burning as he leaned his hands on the top of the couch,  
pulling himself up slowly. Leo was shaking violently as he desperately  
tried to get some air through his narrow respiratory tract.

"C-calm down Leonardo, it's gonna be okay." Donnie assured him as he placed the mask.

"Just breath slow and steady." Leo did as told and breathed as slowly as his body allowed him.

Donnie looked at his brother in sorrow. It really hurt so see his family bedridden like this.  
The oldest turtle suddenly felt like he didn't get enough air, and began to breathe faster.

"Slow down, you're getting lots of oxygen.  
I know it might not feel like it, but please, what you're doing now is over breathing."

Leo wanted to stop, he really did, but for some reason he wasn't able to,  
as he started to hyperventilate.

He could feel his heart racing, and it almost felt like it skipped a beat now and then.  
He could feel it in both his chest and his throat, like it was two places at the same time.

Donnie tried to get some eye contact, but Leo was too light headed to focus.

Leonardo could feel a tingling sensation in his fingers and toes,  
which slowly spread to his hands and feet, as they slowly went numb.  
This only made him panic further.

"Leo, stop panicking, you gotta relax! Please, breath slowly..."

Donnie couldn't do anything but guide him in the right direction,  
the rest was up to the leader in blue. He hat to control it...

The blue clad turtle started to relax a bit, as he closed his eyes.  
Steady breathing was his number one priority.

He was close at getting his pulse down when his mouth also went numb,  
and his hands went into a muscular spasm.  
The way they turned inwards was slightly painful.

Then his legs went into a painful spasm too.  
He had pretty much no control of his own body anymore.

His pulse were still falling, as he tried to ignore the pain and cramping,  
but it happened slowly.

Donnie sat by his side the whole time,  
even though his own body told him to lie down and relax.  
But how could he possibly do that in a situation like this?

He checked his pulse frequently, happy to find it a bit lower every time.  
The mask was helping him a lot...

Finally the cramps surpassed, and his pulse went back to normal.  
Donnie removed the mask to find a very exhausted brother underneath.

"Hey bro, what a ride huh?" The genius gave out a faint smile, which he happily returned.  
"M-my mouth is dry." Leo managed to say through the ongoing wheezing.

"No problem I'll get you something, that is, if I could walk... You got a phone on yah?"

Leo tiredly shook his head. Of course he didn't sleep with his T-phone.  
Talking sleep, Donnie was quite amazed that they had been able to sleep through all the chaos.

"Mine's lying on the table D." Mikey announced from the other couch. How long had he been up?  
He stretched out his arm to reach it. The orange clad turtle gave out a pained grimace  
as he tried to pick it up. His hands was slightly numb, so grabbing the phone wasn't easy.  
He gave out a faint whimper as he finally managed to grab it.

"Here, catch."

"Mikey carefully threw the phone through the room before lying back down.  
Donnie caught it with ease and made a call...

* * *

"Here you go Leo, some fresh water." April entered the dark living room  
and sat down beside Donnie on the couch. She then handed Leo the glass.  
She quickly realized that he couldn't hold it without spilling the fluid everywhere due to shaking.

"Here, let me help you." She let a hand underneath his head to elevate him further.  
April held the glass up to his mouth and slowly tilted it.

Donnie caught himself looking at her, smiling slightly as Leo finished the glass.  
He couldn't thank her enough for being such a big help.

"He's pretty shaky, but I think he's stable for now."

"Thanks April." The young girl let a hand on his shoulder.

"It must have been quite a shock you got there."

"It was. For a minute I really thought we lost him..."

"Maybe you should try and get some more sleep, it's only three AM."

"I'm not sure I'm able to fall back to sleep now,  
though lying down might be a good idea." Donnie placed a hand on his aging shell.

"I'm sorry for placing you in a lounger, the couch might have been better,  
but I only have that much space..."

"No it's fine, it's quite comfy."

"...How's your back? Does it still hurt?"

"Yeah like shell. Okay bad choice of words..."

"Donnie, turn around." The purple clad turtle turned, his back now facing April.  
He could feel her hands touching his shell, carefully gracing the large duck taped wound.

"Aw, don't touch that please."

"It needs to be cleaned. I'll be careful."

April slowly pulled the tape of to reveal the large gash.

"I can't believe you just ignore an injury like this. Aren't you afraid of infection?"

"I've been a bit preoccupied April."

"Well that's possible, but you gotta take care of yourself too.  
Come on, I can't do a proper job in this darkness, we gotta get you to the bathroom."

"Right, but how?"

April thought about it for a second, then took a blanket and lied it on the floor.

"There you go, I'll pull you." She helped the paralyzed turtle down,  
made sure he was comfortable, and started to pull.

"What about my brothers, someone's gotta keep an eye on them."

"No worries, I'm up and ready to help." Casey announced as the shirtless boy walked past them.

* * *

*Click*

The young girl entered the newly illuminated bathroom and let go of the blanket.

"You sit tight, I'll just wet a cloth. I don't have any resin to repair your shell,  
but I'll buy some first thing in the morning."

April wetted the cloth and started cleaning the large open gash.  
No one said a word.

Donnie tried not to complain too much,  
as he found himself holding the blanket firmly, teeth clenched.

"Your bleeding a lot Donnie, I might have to apply some pressure on it."  
The turtle moaned loudly as she held the cloth down on the open wound.

"Sorry..."

They sat like that for some minutes before she removed it.  
The purple clad turtle gave out a loud breath in relief.

"We gotta apply an antibiotic ointment to make sure it won't get infected.  
It might hurt a little." She warned as she opened the tube.

'Oh so what you've done the last ten minutes didn't hurt?' The genius thought to himself.

Slowly she applied the cold ointment, making the turtle flinch slightly.  
She gave him an apologetic look as she continued.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not m-more than usually, it's k-kinda cold though."  
He stuttered slightly as she applied more.

"That's pretty normal, it means it's working."

"G-great. By the way, you got any Morphine? It might help Leo breathe easier."

"I'm not sure..." April stood up and opened the cupboard above the sink.

"Yeah we have it. Do you want some for the pain?"

"How many are there?"

"Five I think..." She sat back down and handed him the bottle.  
If the pain disappeared, then he might be able to move around again.  
He wasn't too much help in his current state, so it was worth a try.

"Okay, I'll like to try one."

"I'll find you a glass then." April stood up and left for the kitchen.

Donnie found himself starring at the little white pill with numbers on it.  
They only got five left, and he was about to take one,  
meaning four left for future issues. April wasn't allowed to buy more,  
and stealing from the hospital again was doomed to go horribly wrong.  
He had to make sure that he wouldn't regret it...

"Here you go Donnie, now swallow the pill."

She handed him the water. He hesitated for a second,  
thinking it over once again, but a sudden feeling of someone  
stabbing him from behind made his decision clear.  
He had to get rid of the pain.

April started bandaging him as soon as the pill was swallowed.  
She was careful not to bind it too tightly, as she wrapped it around him.

The bandage ended up covering most of his carapace and plastron.

"There, done."

"Great, then let's get back to the living room...

* * *

"Here Leo, take this."

Donnie handed Leo the Morphine, which he swallowed without question.  
He was still pale, and his pulse slightly higher than it should be.  
The turtles fever had managed to rise from 103Fo (39,3Co) to 104Fo (40Co).  
The purple clad turtle didn't worry too much about it,  
as it was a fairly normal reaction to the antibiotics.

"H-hurts." Leo complained as he lied a shaking hand on his chest.

"Yeah I know, but try and relax okay?" The blue clad turtle then turned his head away.

Donnie sighed sadly. He wanted to do so much more.

"Hey Donnie, when do you think Raph will wake up?"

The genius turned his head to face Casey, who was sitting beside Raph on the nearby couch.

"I don't know. He tend to wake up for then falling asleep again.  
You can thank his headache for that." He replied, rewarding him with a sad frown.

"You think he'll be able to talk to? Or is it better to just, let him be?"

"If he's up to it. I'm not sure he'll be too eager though.  
He's more comfortable keeping his eyes closed..."

"I see..." Casey looked down at his sleeping buddy.  
It was so unnatural to see him all quiet and unmovable.

A sudden movement of the turtles hand made Casey jump slightly in shock.

"Donnie, he's moving, that's a good sign right?"

"Sure, any sign of life is a good sign."

The red clad turtle slowly opened his faded green eyes.

"C-Casey?" He mumbled weakly.

"I'm right here body, it's okay."

"Casey I-I..."

"You what? Something wrong?" Raph tried to finish his sentence,  
but the words went into whimpers as he spaced out, eyes blinking repeatedly.

"Uhm Donnie, something's wrong." Casey announced as the ill turtle started shaking violently.

Donatello knew that movement, he was having another seizure.  
He wasn't ready to deal with this, not now, not ever...

* * *

**So yeah, another cliffhanger. Sorry guys, don't hate me too much XD  
Keep reviewing guys, it gives me motivation ;)**


	11. The darkness within

**Update! ^^**

**To that one clever reader, you're right, it's not easy getting morphine,  
****which is partly the reason they won't be able to get more.  
****They got it from the hospital. I know a bit about morphine,  
****as my dad takes it. So no, April haven't been having any major injuries. ;)**

**Also not that sure whether I'll keep the happy ending,  
or give it a little twist. Hmm... Things are getting... Interesting...**

**I don't own TMNT...**

* * *

"Casey, get Raph off the couch, April, find a pillow!"

Donnie directed from the nearby couch.  
Casey obeyed immediately and lowered the turtle onto the floor, careful not to hurt him.

"What's wrong with him?! Why's he acting like that?" The black haired boy asked,  
as the turtles hands twitched repeatedly.

"He's having a seizure, and there's a high chance that this one's gonna be worse."

"Worse? You mean he has had one before?"

"This is the second time we're having the honor of experiencing it."

Donnie managed to pull himself off the couch and onto the floor,  
then used his arms to pull himself towards the cramping turtle.

"What can we do?" Casey asked as he sat down beside him.

"Not much, we don't have anything to give him. All we can do is try and calm him down."  
Donnie replied as he ducked an arm swinging his direction.

"Shouldn't we at least try holding him down?"

"No we shouldn't, it'll only make things worse." Donnie explained calmly,  
as Raphs' eyes moved side to side repeatedly, head following.  
His mouth was slightly open when he suddenly clenched his teeth, which gained Caseys' attention.

"Is he gonna bite his own tongue off?"

"No that shouldn't be possible." Donnie commented as he stroke Raphaels chin.

"Hey buddy, it's gonna be okay, we're right here beside you, it's gonna be alright."

He promised as the red clad turtles eyes closed in pain.

"Is he able to hear you?"

"I'm not sure, but it's worth trying."

Raphs body suddenly tightened up, making him move uncomfortably,  
as his fingers went into a cramp.

faint painful whimpers escaped his mouth as his head bend backwards, eyes rolled back.

"He looks like he's dying, is he dying?!" Casey asked panicked.

"Shh Casey." Donnie warned as Raphs' leg gave out a sudden jolt, startling both of them.

He started to jerk violently, like someone experiencing electrical shocks over and over again.

"Do something! He's gonna hurt himself if we don't do something!"

"Casey shut up! As I said, there's nothing we can do!"  
Donnie had no patience left for the boy,  
it was clear he was worried, shell he was pretty scared himself,  
but panicking wasn't gonna help.

The jerking continued for yet another three minutes before the genius spoke up.

"It should have been over by now... April, you gotta try and make his mind calm down."

April nodded and lifted Raphs' head slightly, a focused look on her face.  
"Hey Raph, Can you hear me? You're a strong turtle Raphael,  
you're gonna be okay, just try and focus on my voice."

The convulsions and whimpers continued,  
but she didn't let go, as she slowly entered the turtles mind.

Donnie and Casey shared a silent glare before looking back at her.  
She was so gentle, like a mother figure, hidden inside a teenage girl,  
who also had a very convenient gift.

"He's blogging me out for some reason, It'll take a little longer, but I'll get there eventually..."

* * *

"Raph, where are you? Can you hear me?"

April finally broke down the mind barrier to fully enter the turtles mind.  
It was dark and cold in there, not a single light to show the way around.

"Raphael, I know you're in here somewhere."

The young girl walked forward as the darkness surrounded her.  
It felt like it somehow sucked all her energy,  
making her fell weaker and weaker for every step she took.

"I'm not in the mood for hide and seek Raphael!"

"W-who are you?" A weak voice finally asked.

"It's April, I came here to find you. Why is it so dark in here?"

"April? You're here? But how? I thought I was alone..."

"No you're not alone. Could you try and turn on some light?"

"No, I can't, the light hurts my eyes, and I'm not strong enough anyway..."

"You can and you will Raphael, I know you're tired,  
but the turtle I know is way too stubborn to give up that easily."

It was quiet for some time.

"Please, don't let the darkness win..."

April finally saw a faint light in front of her, and a faint silhouette appeared.

She walked towards it and sat down beside the turtle, who hugged his legs tightly.  
His eyes were faint, like a blind mans eyes.

"I can't see April, how am I supposed to see anything but darkness?"

"This isn't real, your dreaming. The fever is making you see things, things that aren't real.  
You're not dead, and you aren't blind either. You gotta try and push it away,  
make it go away. We need you to wake up, you risk going into a coma if you don't wake up."

"I'm asleep? Is that why I'm feeling... Nothing?"

"Yeah. But don't worry, Donnie's working hard to cure you."

"But, why would I wish to go back to a life of pain?  
It might be dark in here, but I'll rather live in darkness than live in complete misery."

"It won't be misery, you'll get better!"

"I can't... Goodbye April..." That little bit of light slowly turned off as something pulled her away.

"You can't. really? Don't be a wimp! I bet you're too scared to even try!" April yelled panicked as he threw her out.

* * *

April hadn't moved the last couple of minutes, which worried both boys to no end.

"You think she's okay in there?"

"Of course she is Casey, why wouldn't she?"

"She just seems... Pained."

It took another minute before April opened her eyes in shock.

"April, you okay?"

"I tried Donnie, I really did. All we can do now is wait..." She reported sadly.

"His fever is still pretty high. Casey, go find another rag, and a thermometer too."  
Donnie ordered as he looked down at his brothers bleeding wrist.

"Looks like he managed to pull the IV out."

"But you can insert it again right?" April asked worried.

"Yeah no problem, but I'll have to stop the bleeding first, then insert it in the other wrist...  
What happened in there?"

"I-I can't really explain it, it was cold, and dark, really dark.  
He didn't wish to come back Donnie, I don't know if he'll ever wake up again,  
not by himself at least."

Donnie felt broken. Raphael wasn't the kinda turtle to just give up like that,  
unless the burden was too big to carry by himself.  
He was slowly giving up, not wishing to wake up was simply the first state.

The purple clad turtle inserted the thermometer Casey had delivered,  
hoping for a better result than earlier.  
He didn't get the answer he was hoping for.

"What, what is it saying?" April asked worried.

"104/ 40 degrees. It's pretty high..."

Donnie looked back at Leo worried, then got his eyes on Mikey,  
who was hidden underneath a thick light blue blanket.

"April, could you do me a favor and check on Mikey,  
he woke up about an hour ago, but I haven't heard a word from him since."

She simply nodded and stood up.

"Is the goofball okay?" Casey asked concerned as he lied the cold rag on Raphs' forehead.

"I hope so. The infection managed to spread to his blood stream.  
He's having deadly symptoms, he might as well...  
He might even..."

Donnie found himself stopping mid sentence.  
No, he couldn't think like that,  
they wouldn't give up, and neither would he.

What he didn't understand was the treatment.  
It seemed like it managed to slow the illness down slightly,  
but it wasn't really helping.

Could the bacteria be resistant to antibiotics?  
Or was some important ingredient missing?

"Donnie, you might wanna see this." April told him as she took of the blanket.

"Here D, let me help you." Casey then pulled the genius backwards by the shell.  
He stopped beside the couch and helped him sit up.

"What is it April?"

"It's his arm, look." The tall turtle took a quick look at the rash from earlier.

"The rash is spreading faster than I thought it would..."  
Donnie tried to touch it, put pulled back as the younger turtle flinched.

"He's getting sensitive to touch... April, you got the thermometer?"

She nodded and placed it in Mikeys' mouth. " 107/41,6 degrees. Poor Mikey, he's burning up!"

"Remove the blanket entirely, he needs to cool down!"

She did as told, making Mikey turn around uncomfortably as he opened his eyes slightly.

"D-Donnie?..."

"I'm right here buddy, don't worry."

"I'm c-cold Donnie."

"Sorry, but you're having a very high fever,  
we need you to cool down. Is that okay?"

He nodded.

"I'll make a lukewarm bath ready then." April commented and left.

"H-how do I look?"

"Honestly, really sick. But it's gonna be okay Mikey, you'll get better,  
it might take some time, but I promise I'll make you feel better."

"You'll make the others feel better too right?"

"Yeah, I'll cure them too."

"Where are we?"

"In Aprils apartment."

"April? Who's April?"

"April, you know, human, red hair, yellow shirt? Really cute?"

"Oh, that April... I'm tired..."

"No Mikey, you gotta stay awake a bit longer."

Mikey closed his eyes when April reentered.

"The bath's ready. Casey, could you help lifting?"

The boy grabbed his legs and together they carried him into the bathroom.

...

"D-Donnie, where did you go?"

"He's staying in the living room Mikey, to keep an eye on your brothers."  
April told him as they lowered him into the bathtub.

"C-c-cold."

"It's not that cold Mikey, just try and relax."

April took out a sponge, dipped it in the water,  
then twisted it right above the youngest turtles head.  
The water ran down his face as she did it a second time  
before placing it on his forehead.

"Donnie needs an easier way of getting around."  
April suddenly spoke up after minutes of silence.

"Sure thing. What are you having in mind?"

"You remember that wheelchair we used at the hospital?"

"...Yeah..."

"Well, that place where it was parked, there were more than one.  
If we could get one of those, maybe two,  
then it would make transport that much easier."

Casey thought about it for a second. "That's not a bad idea at all! Let's do it!"

"Great! We gotta wait a few hours tho-oh god!"

"What, what is it red?"

April didn't answer but simply covered her mouth with both hands  
as she looked down the tub.

The water was gaining color, a red, bloody color...

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Sorry guys! This is getting nerve breaking, at least for me XD  
Leave a review and tell me, would you like to have both a good and a bad ending? **


	12. I'm not a genius

**Hey!**

**So this one's a shorty, sorry about that, but I've been really busy.  
Just the fact that I had the time to update amazes me.**

**Now I know I have other stories that needs an update, and I will,  
but probably not before 2015. This one might end on stand by too, sorry guys! **

**So this one's at 82 reviews already, which is so cool, so please remember to review **

* * *

"Donnie, we need your help!"  
Casey yelled as he entered the living room.  
He was panicking for some reason.  
Donnie looked in his direction, eyes wide.

"For what? What happened?"

"It's Mikey, he's bleeding again!  
The bathtub, it's full of blood!"

The last sentence send a shiver down his spine.  
He shouldn't be bleeding, the IV was supposed to prevent it.

"Get him out of the tub and onto a blanket, carefully, and send him to me!"  
Donnie ordered as he replaced the mask around Leo's mouth.  
The blue clad turtle breathed in sharply,  
as the mask delivered oxygen to his slime blocked lungs.

The genius then started clapping him on the chest,  
trying to loosen some of the mucus in his lungs.

Donnie felt Leo's chest moving faster, a strange sound escaping his mouth,  
like he tried to stop himself from coughing.  
He continued the movement, determined to clear his brothers airways.

"Come on Leo, cooperate."

The turtle gave a sigh of relief as the oldest turtle started coughing.  
Donnie removed the mask and turned him to his right side,  
face facing the end of the couch.  
He placed a pillow between his legs for comfort.  
The genius then placed a hand over the lower left ribs and started vibrating.

He had made sure to place a bucket at the end of the couch,  
which was a smart move as It didn't take long before the blue clad turtle  
cough up piles of yellow mucus and blood.

The coughing fit was violent enough to trigger the gag reflex, making him hurl.  
Normally vomiting would be a bad thing,  
but in this case, it helped clearing the airways.

Donnie removed his hand and looked in the direction of the reopened bathroom door.  
They were pulling the white blanket carefully, before placing it near Donnie.  
The white cover was already covered in blood.

The purple clad turtle looked at his pale little brother.

"Looks like rectal bleeding, how much did he loose so far?"

"We don't know, but half a liter at least."

"He needs blood then, he won't survive if he keeps losing his own...  
We have the same blood type, I might be able to make a blood transfusion, but it's risky.  
Did you remember to grab a blood bag at the clinic?"

"I did, though only one..." April took up a bag and handed it to Donnie  
who immediately placed the needle in one of his blood vessels.

"Careful Donnie!"

"It's alright April, I know what I'm doing.  
This might take some minutes, make sure Mikey's comfortable until then."

April nodded and sat down beside the younger turtle.  
She gently stroke his forehead as he gave out moans of discomfort.

"There, that should be enough.  
Now I just need to insert the IV to his arm..."

He carefully pulled himself off the couch and onto the floor,  
then placed the needle in his little brothers arm.

"From now on we aren't gonna move him.  
Whatever is causing these bleeding's gets activated when he's moving."

"So what, we just leave him on the floor?" Casey asked.

"For now, yes.  
Man, things would be that much easier if I could walk!  
April, you got the time for shopping?"

She looked at him questioned, then remembered.

"Of course I do, but I'm gonna need Casey,  
you think you can be on your own for an hour or two?"

"Yeah, no reason to worry, just make it quick."  
He smiled at then as they changed into outerwear.

"If something happens, call us."  
With that they left the genius behind.

"Okay Donnie, no reason to panic, they'll only be gone for a few hours,  
it'll be fine, they're all stable, Leo is breathing, Mikey isn't loosing anymore blood,  
Raph is still unconscious, but he isn't in the middle of an seizure, things are fine,  
except the fact that I'm talking to myself again!

Guess it's my way of staying sane...

What am I gonna do about this? It's clearly Kraang's work,  
meaning it's an alien infection,  
I might need to investigate the TCRI building,  
but my shells gotta heal first.  
But what if it heals to slow, and the infection spreads too fast?

Then it's my fault they die... "

Donnie stroke Mikey's forehead.  
It was quiet, and not in a good way,  
as all he could here were faint coughing, wheezing,  
moaning, and the sound of IV drops.

From outside was the sounds of police cars and  
ambulances passing by every so often.

"Had we just been normal, then you all would be at a hospital by now,  
and not in Aprils apartment. Not that there's anything wrong with it,  
it's a nice apartment, but it's not a clinic,  
and I'm not a doctor with a PHD.  
all they have is me...

The genius who don't deserve that title.  
I'm no genius, I don't know how to heal you.  
I don't have a cure, only unanswered questions..."


	13. Kraang Conspiracy?

**So late and short, sorry guys! I've been so busy with filming and producing and music mixing and drama and, life XD**

**But! Here's an update for you all to enjoy ^^**

**I don't own tmnt...**

* * *

The leader were getting as pale as death as he lay on the small couch heaving for air.  
Donnie were sitting beside him, trying to calm him down as he replaced the asthma mask.

It had been about half an hour since April and Casey headed downtown,  
And the paralyzed genius were getting anxious.

Donnie looked Leo in the eyes, they were red rimmed,  
looking like someone who hadn't been sleeping for days in a row.  
He carefully levitated Leo's head further by placing his head in his lap.  
The blue masked turtle let out a gasp of pain,  
as the movement gave a feeling of being stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife.

"I know it hurts, but you gotta keep breathing in, then out, slowly."

Leo nodded weakly and closed his eyes, breathing slowly steadying as he tried to relax.  
That was then Donnie's T-phone rang, making the sick turtle flinch in chock.  
Donatello looked apologizing at him as he leaned forward,  
or as much as his body allowed him, and grabbed his phone.  
The caller was, to no big surprise, April O'Neil.

"April? Something wrong? Why are you calling?"

"Donnie, thank shell you answered! You won't believe what's happening!"  
She sounded breathless, like she had been running.

"We went to the hospital to get a wheelchair, thought it would come in handy,  
well, there weren't any left outside, so we went inside,  
and the waiting area were filled up with sick people!  
I'm talking at least fourthly, both kids and adults!"

"And your point?"

"My point is, that it wasn't this crowded earlier, plus,  
they're all confused and talking about severe nose bleedings."

"You think it's some kinda kraang conspiracy?"

"What else? I'll go and buy the remedies, then head back as fast as possible!  
No need for us to get sick too."

"But, I've been close to my brothers in over 24 hours, and I'm not infected."

"We'll continue this conversation later, just wanted you to know."  
She hung up, leaving a confused Donnie on the other line.  
He placed his phone back onto the table as Mikey  
weakly lifted his head and looked questioned at his big brother.

"What's up?"

"Kraang is up, but don't worry, I'll figure it out."

The young ninja nodded as he moved uncomfortably,  
one hand on his hurting belly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like something died inside me.  
I'm not feeling too good..."

Donnie got off the couch and onto the floor by the help of his arms and hands.  
He borrowed the mucus filled bucked Leo had used a little earlier and crawled his direction.  
It felt like his spine were on fire, like someone tried to burn him alive, but he had to ignore it.  
Pain is only temporary, he would survive the short trip.

He sat up beside Mikey, then helped him sitting up too.

"Easy, you have to move as little as possible."

The purple clad turtle gave Mikey the bucket,  
and it didn't take long before he threw up.  
Donnie rubbed soothing circles on his shell,  
trying to ignore the nauseating sounds.

The orange clad turtle were breathing heavily by the time he stopped vomiting.  
He whined and gave the genius the bucket back.

"Did it make you feel any better?"

He shook his head and lay back down with a slight tremble.

Donnie sighed and rubbed the young turtles stomach carefully.

* * *

Another thirteen minutes went by before April reentered the apartment.

"Hey Donnie, how are ya holding up?" The young kunoichi asked as she met his gaze.

"Okay I guess, though it's been a bit unpleasant to be here alone."

She nodded as Casey came through the door, rolling in a wheelchair.

"Look what Red and I got ya, pretty sweet ride isn't it?"

Donnie's eyes widened.

"Don't tell me you guys stole that thing..."

"Well, uhm-" Casey looked at April for help.

"You needed an easier way to get around Donnie,  
we'll give it back when you're up and running again."

"Yeah, just imagine you're Charles Xavier or something,  
taking care of your brothers, which will be much easier from now on."

The genius felt embarrassed as they pulled him off the floor, and yet relieved.  
No more crawling around, that would truly make the situation a bit brighter.

He smiled as he was placed in the wheelchair.

"Thanks guys."

"That's what family's for right? They care for each other."

"You're right, and I couldn't wish for a better family than this one."

April got her eyes on the guys and frowned

"So, any process?"

"Not in a good way. Leo's having trouble breathing again,  
and Mikey's been vomiting blood."

"And Raph?"

"Still unconscious. His neck is a bit swollen too."

April nodded and let a hand creep into one of the bags,  
then pulled up a tube.

"Whatcha say we try and fix your shell?"

"That would be great."

"You guys go and do that, then I'll keep an eye on the guys."

"Thanks Casey."

The genius and the red head then headed for the bathroom,  
leaving Casey alone to deal with three sick mutant turtles.

* * *

**Wanna review? I wouldn't mind that ^^**


	14. Twisted

Casey was getting impatient. They had been in the bathroom for half an hour, making him the one in charge of the sick.  
He were wiping the sweat off of Raph's forehead, when the turtle started mumbling feebly.

"Raph? Can you hear me? How are you feeling?"

He whined in response, tightening his head.

"Your head, it's still sore, isn't it?"

He nodded as his nose started bleeding. Casey used the rag to wipe it away.

"You're gonna be okay, I promise."

Raph opened his eyes, looking at the teen.

"Dude, you're eyes! Its like, they're losing their color... Know what, I'll get Donnie."

Casey was about to stand, when the red clad turtle grabbed his collar, eyes going white.

"Raph?"

* * *

Donatello shivered as Aprils cold hand touched his shell for the tenth time.

The crack was covered in a thick layer of resin by now.  
She wasn't a doctor, she hadn't even studied medicine, so mending a wound like this was a pain in the shell, literally.  
Her hands were shaking, afraid of doing something wrong.

"It's okay April, you're doing great."

"No I'm not, I'm not a nurse, and this is just... I'm not even sure I'm doing it right."

She sighed, then looked at it. It wasn't professional, but it would have to go for now.

"April? Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"Well, you see, I've been thinking and..."

The genius sighed in frustration, trying to find words, when a cry came from the living room.

"HELP! APRIL, DONNIE, ANYONE!"

It was Casey, no doubt. April finished the work she started, though the bandage had to wait.  
She lifted the partly paralyzed Donnie back onto the wheelchair, then hurried out of the bathroom.

Casey were lying on the floor, a crazy Raphael on top of him.

"Raph's gone nuts, he's trying to bite me! Do something!"

The teen was in utter panic, looking at the mad turtle.

"Casey, there's a pressure point under his jaw, do you know where that is?"

"Of cause I do! But he'll bite my hand of if I try! You gotta distract him!"

"Right! Hey Raph, you ugly excuse of a turtle!"

No reaction. Don then turned his focus to his bo staff leaning against the wall.

"April, poke him with my bo!"

"What?! Are you crazy!"

"Just do it!"

April then grabbed the staff and carefully poked his shoulder, making his focus turn to her.

"Now Casey!"

The teen then pressed a finger under his jaw, but nothing happened.

"Guys, it's not working!" Casey panicked as Raph stood up, then headed in Aprils direction.

"Crap! April, run!"

The young redhead didn't have to be told twice as she sprinted through the living room,  
and into the bathroom, locking the door from the inside.  
The red clad turtle now stood outside the door, waiting.

"What's happenening?!" The genius looked confused at Casey.

"Really Don, really? Ya need glasses or something? Raph just tried to eat my face!"

"Yeah but, why would he even... Unless..."

"Unless what?" The teen asked worried.

"I'll need to take another blood test, I might have missed something..."

"What are you even talking about?"

"I'm talking mind control. Something made Raph mind shut down, and now we gotta find a way to change him back"

"So, some kinda serum?"

"It's possible, but how did the kraang even get it?"

"Who cares, this is so cool! Like a real zombie apocalypse!"

"No Casey, this is not cool, it's dangerous!"

"Blablabla, as long as I get to kill some undead!"

"First, no one's dead, second, you wouldn't kill Raph!"

He looked at him thinking, then shook his head.

"I didn't think so. Now, to run a proper test, I'll need the centrifuge from my lab, hopefully it didn't break during the fight..."

"No problem, I'll go get it for ya!"

"No way! You aren't leaving the apartment!"

"Come on, I'll be careful. Besides, I know what to do, I've read a bunch of survival journals,  
just in case something like this would happen. I'll be back in less than an hour!"

With that Casey left through the window  
No way this mission could go wrong in any way...

Meanwhile, Donnie still had a brother, guarding the locked bathroom door like a watchdog,  
and he had to come up with a way to knock him unconscious, without hurting him, while being stuck to a wheelchair...  
Why did things always have to be so damn complicated?!

* * *

**Plot twist and cliffhanger? Yep! It was too short? Yep! XD Leave a review, and tell the author how ya feel about it.  
Was it a shock, did ya kinda expect it? Im curious ;P**


	15. Parasites

**Look who updated XD No but really, giant writers blog, yet I managed to finally finish this chapter.  
****Yes its short, but short is better than nothing right? Besides, you're gonna get a lot of info in this...**

**I do not own TMNT**

* * *

Raphael had been leaning tiredly against the bathroom door for more than fifteen minutes, and Donnie was getting worried.  
Whenever the genius tried talking to him, he would simply groan in respond.  
The thought of knocking him unconscious had left his mind completely, knowing the dangers of doing so.

The red clad turtle was exhausting himself, and yet he didn't even seem to realize it.

After a while he was starting to lose balance, and slowly slid down the door, eyes closing.  
He waited a little longer to be sure he was asleep.

"It's okay April, you can come out now." Don assured as he wheeled himself towards him.  
She opened the door ajar and left the bathroom, not able to open it fully as the unconscious turtle was leaning against it.

"What happened to him? He starts off weak and feeble, and then suddenly he tries biting Casey's face off.  
That's not a symptom of meningitis, is it?"

"No, it's not, but I don't think he's thinking by himself, it's almost like... He had to do it, even though he didn't have the energy to..."

April looked questioned at him as she lifted the sleeping form from the cold floor and back to the couch.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm not saying it is, but... Remember I told you about those wasps we fought about a year ago?  
Well, when they stung us, they released chemicals that invaded our brain, and made us protective slaves over an egg.  
Not only that, but if an infected individual, in this case Leo, bit someone who wasn't infected, he would spread the parasite.  
In conclusion, there could be behavior controlling parasites involved in this, which is, actually, really smart"

"So, what you're saying is, if someone who's already infected, bit you, he would infect you too?"

"Of cause it's just a theory, I'm not 100% percent sure yet..."

Donny suddenly had a revelation.

"Hey, they were covered in a thick layer of a weird, smelly goop after a patrol, the same goop that made them ill the next day.  
If we could get a sample of that, I might be able to find a cure!"

"Right, and where are we gonna find that?"

"Since we're dealing with krang, lucky guess, it's hidden somewhere in the TCRI building."

"Right, and how do we gain access?"

"That's the problem, since the place isn't exactly wheelchair friendly, I won't be able to get inside."

"So, it would be up to me and Casey to get the goop."

"It's gonna be dangerous April, and if something happens, we won't be there to help you."

"I know, but we gotta try, or your brothers, and all of New York city may fall into incurable sickness.  
We have to at least try, or this might end in a pandemic."

The genius hesitated, but a single look at his diseased, almost lifeless brothers made his blood run cold.  
He couldn't give up on them, even if it meant that he had to send his love of his life into an alien headquarter,  
the same aliens that wants her head on a silver plate.

"...You're right, we don't have any other choices, yet I don't think your dad is gonna agree to this."

Yes, Kirby wasn't in New York at the time being, but that didn't mean he wouldn't care if his daughter ended up hurt, or worse, dead.

"I've done plenty of things without his permission, and I'll rather safe the world and get grounded, than let my family suffer like this."

"Well then, guess I'll have to teach you the modern ways of hacking krang tech."

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading and sticking around, and reviews are still highly appreciated. **


	16. Gonna regret it

**You all wanted the guys to suffer more? I'm starting to think you're as bad as me. XD  
****But sure, lets have some suffering turtles and a worried genius.  
****Oh! And happy 4th of July to those of you who celebrate it!**

**I do not own TMNT, and I probably never ever will...**

* * *

As feared, Casey came back empty handed.  
He had managed to avoid people, sneak into the sewers and into the lair,  
but as he entered the lab he found the centrifuge completely broken on the ground.  
So now he won't be able to take new samples,  
which means no updates on how the illness is evolving...

Donnie let them in on the plan, he would hack the TCRI building to gain them access,  
then it would be up to them to (hopefully) find a cure.  
He wasn't too keen of sending them off alone,  
but with his useless legs and the lack of time, this was their last option.

They left only few minutes later, and Don was now sitting beside Mikey with April's laptop.  
Both of Mikey's arms were now covered in the bloody rash,  
which was starting to show on his thighs as well.  
Worst case scenario, he may have to amputate them.  
A ninja without arms, he would never be able to use his nunchucks again,  
or eat a slice of pizza without the help from a brother.  
He wouldn't be able to break-dance, or spare, or play video games anymore,  
his whole world would fall apart...

No, he couldn't think like that, it wasn't too late, it couldn't be,  
they would get through this, and without any side effects!

Mikey groaned feebly and tiredly opened his eyes, only to close them again.

"Light, burns" He whined as he tried covering his eyes with his arms,  
but he couldn't move them, not even slightly.  
He then tried sitting up, but his body was too weak.

Donnie carefully helped him up, then let him lean against his plastron.  
He took a rag from the water bowl on the table and placed it on his forehead,  
making him shiver as the cold touched his skin.

"You'll be okay, you just have to hold on a little longer, can you do that?"

He gave a small nod and smacked his dry lips.  
The genius took a cup and tried to make him drink a little,  
but as soon as it entered his numb mouth,  
it started running down his chin instead.

Donnie gave a sad sigh and used the rag to wipe his mouth, then placed it again.  
The younger brother continued whining,  
and the older brother couldn't do anything to soothe him.

"I'm sorry Mikey, I can't help you, I can't make it go away, we have to wait"

He whimpered at the statement, tears starting to run from his closed eyes.  
The purple clad turtle carefully wrapped an arm around him  
and started rocking him back and forth while humming.

He closed his own eyes tightly as Leo was showing signs of a severe seizure.  
He couldn't watch anymore, he just couldn't.  
But he had to, he couldn't ignore them, they needed intensive care,  
and he was the only one able to give it to them.  
Yet it didn't make it less painful.

The genius carefully lay Mikey down again and wheeled to the other couch.  
He placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered; "it's okay, you'll be okay.  
I'm right here beside you, and I won't leave you till it's over"  
He stroke his arm as his open eyes twitched madly.  
Leo starred at him as his body tensed up and started jolting.

Donnie had to keep him down as he tried getting up several times.

"No Leo, stay down, you have to stay down."

But he didn't listen, it was as if he didn't even hear him,  
his voice nothing but a blur in the distance, a blur that made his pounding head even worse.  
He kicked madly, making the sofa cushion near his feet loosen and fall to the floor.  
After some fierce minutes that felt like an eternity, the jerking stopped and the leader went numb.

"There, you're okay, you'll be okay now." He calmed while stroking his plastron.  
He moved him onto his side as he started drooling,  
then hurried to wipe his mouth and place the oxygen mask again.  
He held it over his mouth for several minutes, waiting for the breathing to get back to normal

As it did, Leo closed his eyes and went back to sleep.  
The purple clad turtle then carefully lifted his brothers legs to replace the cushion.

"You guys better survive this! And with all limps intact, and no brain or lung damage!"

He leaned his elbows on the sofa, hands covering his face,  
trying to get himself together and stop panicking.

He got back to his senses when his T-phone suddenly started ringing.  
The tall, slightly startled turtle hurried back to the other couch and answered the phone.

"Hello? Oh, April! You're already there? And you placed the device? Right, just give me a second!"

He took his laptop and started hacking into the tall kraang building.  
Luckily it wasn't his first time doing it, or it may have taken hours instead of minutes.

"There, the not so secret passage way is now unlocked, but not for long, so hurry!  
I've send the map to your T-phone. Oh, and guys, be careful okay?  
And call when you're back outside or if you need an escape route!"

He ended the call, thinking. This may have been the last time he heard her beautiful voice.  
What had he done? Now he wouldn't only loose his family, but his best friend and crush and Casey as well.

They had already lost their Sensei due to his loss of knowledge.  
He couldn't save him, so what was the chances he could safe his brothers, for not talking about New York?  
He was losing hope, and if this plan failed, then he would fail as well...

* * *

**Next chapter we'll focus on April and Casey's trip to the TCRI building.  
****You think they'll find the cure? And if so, will it be too late? We'll see...**

**Thank's for reading! Leave a review, it helps keeping the chapters comming, and I love hearing from you all!**


	17. Kraang facility

**Special thank's to the lovely Lary, in here known as ****arteotakupe, for helping me a lot with this chapter! She's amazing! Would probably had taken me another week if it wasn't for her, as I've been busy with work, making my brain tired.**

**Anyways, here ya go, and I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

"Call when you're back outside or if you need an escape route!"

"Right, thanks Donnie!" April then ended the call and looked at Casey determined, who smirked back.

"So, this is it, our first mission together."

"I'm pretty sure we've been on a mission together before Casey."

"Yeah? And when was that?"

"... Well... A while ago?.. We don't have time for this! Now come on, and be quiet."

They opened the unlocked door and entered the huge kraang facility. As the team got to an empty hallway, they followed the T-phone's map towards what they hoped would be the control room. They sneaked up to a round corner and carefully peeked their heads out to look for aliens, then hurried to pull back as a large group of droids were walking their direction.

"Think they saw us?" Casey whispered.

"I'm pretty sure they saw something, but if they knew it was us, they would have activated some alarm already."

"Great, now what?!"

She looked around looking for something until she got her eyes on a huge ventilator shaft in the wall.

"There! Quick, lift me up!"

He lifted her onto his shoulders without question. After some fumbling she managed to get the cover loose and entered the shaft. She let out a hand for Casey, but the sound of kraang coming closer made him place the cover back in place.

"Go find the control room, I'll take care of them."

"What? Don't be an idiot!"

"We don't have time for this! Just trust me!"

She glared at him, and he glared back.

"April, trust me, I got this."

She looked him in the eyes and they shared a nod before parting ways.

...

*Drrrr! Drrr!*

"Huh? Secret number?"

The genius looked questionably at his T-phone as it vibrated in his hand. Whoever it was, wasn't April.  
With a gulp, he whispered into the phone.

"H-hello?"

"Donatello, this is doctor Rockwell, are you and your brothers in a safe place?"

"Uhm... That depends on how safe April's apartment is. Who gave you my number?"

"You gave it to me, are you telling me you don't remember?"

"Clearly I forgot, but man am I glad to hear from you!"

"You are? How come? Are you in trouble?"

"Yeah, or the others are. My brothers got hit and possibly swallowed this kraang goop on their latest mission, and that somehow infected their meninges. It started out as flu like symptoms, but then it got worse. "

"Yes, I know the symptoms, Slash got himself infected as well. This strange illness seems to be spreading faster than I thought it would."

"Wait, Slash? Is he okay?! How did that happen?"

"Long story, but do not worry, he is still in the early state. Now tell me, what are you doing in April's apartment?"

"Rhazar and Fishface found the lair, the lab is ruined, and since I'm unable to walk after a severe slash in my shell, her apartment was the closest."

"Well, how are your brothers? Do you have everything they need?"

"Uhm... No, not at all, we're soon out of antibiotics, and the mask I'm using for Leo is barely enough anymore."

"Sounds like you need some help. Don't worry Donatello, we're on our way to collect you."

"Collect us? Where are we going?"

"To our base, we have the proper equipments to keep your brothers stable."

"Well that's great and all, but I'm not sure it's safe to move them around anymore..."

"Noted, four hover boards and a cargo car is on its way."

With that the human-monkey mutant hung up, leaving Donnie baffled.  
He looked at his phone, checking for incoming calls or messages, relieved to find none.

"You heard that guys, our friends are coming to help us, you just, have to hold on a little longer, can you do that for me?"

The genius asked his barely conscious brothers, desperate for at least receiving a small nod.  
Only Mikey managed to give a faint whimper in response.

He sighed and patted his younger brother's head, then let his focus back to the digital map on the laptop,  
following the yellow dot that came from a tracker on April's phone...

...

April puffed as she made her way through the shaft that seemed to get smaller the further she got.  
It was dark, that kind of dark where you can't even see your own hands. She turned on the flashlight on her phone for a brief moment to illuminate the way ahead. The red head sighed relieved, glad she turned it on.  
Only a few meters from where she was crawling was what looked like an elevator shaft.  
She then looked at the map, wondering whether she would be able to get to the other side or not.

"Hmm, this is gonna be tricky..."

She crawled to the edge and looked down. That would be a deadly fall for sure, yet the wires seemed to be climbable.

Trembling, she reached for one, but found out she wasn't brave enough to try and swing herself like Tarzan.  
Instead, she tried moving along a small edge coming from the wall, reaching all the way around.  
It was barely there, and there was nothing to hold onto, so she had to lean her back against the wall,  
walking slowly and carefully, moving right foot, then the left, not daring to cross them.

April gasped when she almost slipped, gulping as she continued. She was a little over half way when the wires started moving. The elevator was coming, yet when she looked down she saw nothing but darkness.  
That's when the girl realized, it was coming from above her!

Sudden panic rushed over her and she started walking faster. It was coming closer, and it would hit her head if she wasn't fast enough. She was only a few meters from the other end when she jumped inside,  
panting madly as she lay there, stomach against the cold metal, feet barely inside as the elevator rushed past her, a puff of cold air blowing her hair.

That was too close for comfort, had she been just a bit slower, it would have hit her. She looked at the map again, smiling brightly.

She was close.

...

Casey had tried fighting the small group of Kraangs, but that only resulted in more arriving. He couldn't help but wonder why they didn't set off the alarm as he ran through a hall. He was the enemy right? Why didn't they warn the other kraangs about him? Did they really think he was an easy target? Was he supposed to feel hurt now? He stopped with a sudden as he rounded a corner.

"The human known as Casey Jones have illegally broken into the facility known as kraang's facility.  
Casey Jones, friends with the ones known as the turtles will pay with his life."

The droids pointed laser guns at him. The boy gave a nervous chuckle, looking around for any way to escape.

"Uhm, cant we talk about it over a cup of tea or something?"

"The Kraang do not drink the liquid known as tea, the human known as Casey Jones is trying to poison the Kraang."

"What? No, not at all, I mean, we could drink something else!"

"Casey Jones talk the amount known as too much, the Kraang will not listen for the time known as any longer."

Casey looked at the guns, preparing himself to avoid the shots. Hopefully his distraction was enough to keep them away from April.

…

After a couple minutes crawling through the shaft, April stopped to open a certain lid which should lead to the control room. Peeking carefully, she smirked.

"Aha. Found it."

There were only two Kraangs, too busy checking the security cams, watching while other droids were attacking the boy and discussing if they should send more droids or not for such an insignificant threat. April glanced around and found a couple laser weapons lying on the other side of the small room, near her. With another smile, she got out of the shaft slowly and silently, getting one of the weapons. When she charged it, the noise called the Kraangs attention and they turned to her, but it was too late for them to try any reaction, as she immediately opened fire against them, aiming against the small aliens. She couldn't let them escape to warn the others.

After pulling the droids to the side, April looked puzzled at the weird computer in front of her, on the panel. It was holographic, with several programs or functions running and she had no idea what to do at all. Maybe she should call Donnie for a little help, but as she thought of it, suddenly the holographic panel moved quickly and there was a message on the invisible screen in front of her saying 'The Kraang computer does not have the contact number of the one known as Donnie'.

Startled, she almost fell backwards. What had just happened? How did that happen?

'The Kraang computer is reading that which is known as Psychic Waves emanated by the one known as April O'Neil. That is how Kraang computer works.'

"Oh, sweet!" She grinned, amazed. "So I just need to think and it will do anything I want. Let's see. First..." She glanced at the security cam screens and noticed Casey was in trouble. But she couldn't just tell the Kraangs to retreat, right?

...

Casey saw the guns load, cursing himself for running into them in the first place. He slowly moved his hand towards the hockey stick's handle, not daring to look away from the enemy. He jumped slightly in shock when the speaker on the wall suddenly turned on with a loud beep.

"This is Kraang calling from the room known as the control room. Uhm, Kraang orders the Kraang to take the boy known as Casey Jones, friend of the turtles, to the room, known as in control of the Kraang."

Casey smiled, that had to be April, no doubt about it. He turned the smirk around, frowning at the droids.

"You're gonna obey Kraang, right?"

"An order to Kraang from Kraang cannot be ignored, Casey Jones will follow without question."

"And what if I don't?"

He gasped as one of them pushed a tazer to his back, sending jolts of electricity through his spine and all the way down to his toes. The boy growled, put both hands on the back of his head and moved along. It didn't take more than a few minutes before they came to a hold. Casey looked at the big metal door, wondering how it looked on the other side.

"Good, now Kraang, go and find the liguid known as the antidote to the, uhm, the epidemic the Kraang spread in new york. Only one Kraang will come back, other Kraang will go to the room known as, kitchen.  
Leave the boy known as Casey to the Kraang known as me to be dealt with."

Stupid as they were, they shrugged and walked off, not even questioning the order. Casey chuckled and entered, finding April's arms around him in a matter of seconds. She quickly pulled away and hit his shoulder.

"Idiot! What were you thinking! Risking your life like that!"

He rubbed his hurt arm with a smirk "What? Ya act like I never did that before."

She sighed relieved "Just glad I wasn't too late to save your butt!"

"Hey! Casey Jones could save his own butt! I just trusted you would come up with something."

"Sure, if that saves your ego. Now, they'll soon be back, and we need an escape route."

She took out her phone and called Donnie.

...

Donnie was sitting on a grey and black hover board right outside of Aprils window, slowly moving down towards the street when his phone vibrated on his thigh. It didn't take him long to answer it.

"Hello, April?"

"Hey, listen, I tricked the Kraang into thinking I'm one of them, and they're now on their way to hand us the antidote."

"Wait, are you telling me they'll just hand it to you? What did you do?!"

"Long story, I'll tell you the details later, right now, we need a way to escape."

He looked at the map on his laptop as it still rested in his lap.

"Okay, I just send you the coordinates for the nearest exit, as soon as you get the chance, run for it! I told Rockwell about your location, and Leatherhead will soon be there to collect you. He'll take you both back to the mighty mutanimals base, as we're heading there."

April was about to question it when a knock on the door startled her.

"The kraang has arrived with the liquid known as, the cure."

* * *

**Things are getting better for our heroes, or so it seems. For those who are familiar with my writing, you know I love plot twists or sudden angst.**

**Leave a review and I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


	18. Safe but not saved

**Just got home from somewhere, pretty tired, but decided to update, as it was already written. **

**I don't own TMNT**

* * *

"The kraang has arrived with the liquid known as, the cure."

April looked at the door, then down at her T-phone. The exit wasn't that far from their current location, only a couple of halls away. She took a deep breath and thought up an answer. "Good, Kraang is what is known as proud of you. Kraang orders Kraang to close his eyes and enter, as Kraang do not wish for Kraang to see him."

The alien did so and slowly entered, holding a large ooze canister filled with purple liquid. April pulled it out of his hands for then pulling out the brain and throw it at the wall. Casey looked astonished "Woah, is it dead? Nice going Red!"

She shrugged, not too sure whether they were out for good or not. April lay the canister in his backpack, and with that they left the room and started running towards the exit. No alarms had been triggered, which made the mission go smoothly.

"Okay, we're almost there, just about half a mile more and-"

She was interrupted by her phone vibrating in her hand, showing Donnie's number. She answered with a frown as they started running down the stairs. "Donnie? Why are you calling? We're almost out!"

"And you didn't run into any troubles right? No one's following you?"

"No, no one's following us, we managed to fight the ones who saw us."

"Good, then please hurry, leatherhead should be waiting for you outside."

"And you're at the hideout already? Is the guys doing okay?"

"Well... The're hooked to a couple of machines, and Leo's got an endotracheal tube down his throat to help him breathe. They're stable, but we don't know for how long."

"Got it! Don't worry, we're at the end of the last hall now, we'll be there as fast as possible. See you soon sweety." April hung up as they pushed the heavy metal doors, barely having the strength needed when it suddenly swung open. April gasped and almost fell into the huge mutant now standing in front of them.

...

The genius turtle let down the phone, relieved to hear that April and Casey got out of the building without getting captured or worse, killed. He let it down and looked around the warehouse. There were some rusty boats and small ships, which made sense as the hideout was close to a harbor. It may be abandoned, but it didn't fail to creep him out a little. kurtzman told him it would only be temporary, that they were looking for somewhere better, yet hadn't been able to find anything yet. The good thing about the place was the space, as it was almost empty, except for some furniture and the med bay they were sitting in at the moment. They made sure to keep it clean as well, and despite the rusty walls and smell of oil, it wasn't that bad. His brothers even had a bed each, the sheets cleaner than the ones they had in the lair. They hadn't been cleaning much lately, and it made him think of all the plates in the kitchen sink still waiting to be cleaned, and the trash cans that were too full to tie a knot around. There would be flies everywhere by now...

He got pulled out of his thoughts with a sudden when Dr. Rockwell called his name.

"Donatello, your younger brother's body is in an exceedingly bad shape, I cannot promise the outcomes." The monkey-man frowned as he examined the trembling turtle. The bloody rash was now covering most of his body, and the left arm was of deep concern. His arm was bleeding from the damaged blood vessels while the skin tissue was rotting.

"What are you trying to tell me? Is he... Are we... Out of time?"

He shook his head. "No, but there will be severe consequences. As you already know, the infections death rate is high, the fact they've been alive for this long can be considered a mutant miracle. I am not sure you are aware of just how much this will affect you and your family, not only now, but many months, maybe even years to come."

"But, we'll have the cure soon, so there's nothing to fear, right? They'll be okay?"

"No, this will be a long process of intensive care, they will not be able to get up from their beds for many weeks, and when they're healthy enough to get up and walk around, they may not know how to use their body probably anymore. I am sorry to deliver such sad news to you, but they are as fragile as newborn babies, and will need help to do even the simplest things."

"So... They'll forget how to fight as well?"

"I am not saying they'll forget it, they will simply not have the strength or coordination needed for it. They may get their strength back, but there's no promises. Their lives as ninjas might be over."

Don sighed sadly as they covered the turtle in a thick blanket.

"Now, Donatello, I am still awaiting your permission to amputate Michelangelo's infected arm."

"I... I can't let you do this, I can't see him missing it, it's wrong!"

"Severe damage is already done, it is not possible to save it, and he is in no condition to make this decision himself. You are the only conscious family member, so you have to chose."

"Still, even if he can't use it, it would still be there..."

"I know it may be hard for you, I understand your distress, but is it really worth it to let him suffer? To see the arm slowly rot away, till only bones remain? Is that what you want your brother to see when he wakes up? Let him have the experience of seeing his arm fall off by itself?"

Donnie looked at Mikey, thinking it over. He hated seeing him in pain, and if cutting off an arm would help him get better, then he wouldn't be the one to stand in the way. He carefully stroke a glove covered finger over his brothers damaged arm, noticing the frown that followed. His arm wasn't green anymore, the cute freckled covered limp was nothing but an infected wound screaming to get removed. He felt his eyes getting watery once again as he pictured his brother waking up with a missing arm.

"I..." He hesitated, his tongue knotting as he tried to form a proper sentence " I give my permission for the amputation."

* * *

**I know it was short, but I'm sooo busy, and I haven't had the time to make them much longer. R&amp;R.**


	19. The cure

**Aw man, sorry for taking this much time guys, but I tarted in college and its hell. Not only that but it's taking a lot of my time. I've been sick with a fever, and decided to write as I finally got an opportunity to do it. Once again a short chapter, cause I like them short, also makes it much easier to handle. **

**I don't own tmnt**

* * *

**Aprils POV**

It was close to midnight when me and Casey entered the mighty mutanimals hideout. The lights were dimmed, and in front of us was three metal beds where two of them was occupied. Slowly I moved forward, noticing the hospital screens that divided the turtles from the rest of the dusty warehouse. Where was Mikey? Why wasn't he laying in bed like his brothers? I went to Leos bed and Casey to Raphs. Why was no one keeping an eye on them? Where was everyone?

I slowly moved my hand to Leos plastron, noticing the shallow breathing. His face displayed obvious discomfort as he fought to keep on breathing. The machine helped a lot though. His pale skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and a few feeble whimpers was the only proof of him being conscious. I took his clammy hand in mine and carefully squeezed it.

"Leo? Can you hear me? Is something troubling you?" What a stupid question, of cause there was. I mentally face palmed for asking something that stupid. I felt my eyes widened when he squeezed back weakly.

"We got the cure, all we need now is someone with medical experience to look at it, then they'll give it to you and-" My sentence was cut short as the oldest turtle, the one laying in front of me, went into a violent couching fit, mucus rising from his lungs and into the endotracheal tube, quickly blocking it and making it impossible to breathe.

"Oh god! Donnie! Someone, help!" I yelled in panic as I watched Leos lips slowly turning blue, his hands rushing to his mouth trying to pull the tube out.

Leatherhead was by his side in a matter of seconds, carefully pulling it out. "April, there should be a clean tube in the third cupboard, second drawer. Please hurry." I nodded and rushed off, hands shaking as I opened said drawer, looking for the right one. I looked back, noticing that leatherhead had moved the leader to lay on his side, head leaned over the edge as he coughed mucus and blood into a bucket.

My vision was getting blurry from the panic, the huge mutants voice calling for me to hurry. I shook my head, trying to get my vision back, and as soon as it was I hurried to grab the tube and headed back to the bed. I handed it over, and as soon as the couching stopped Leo got rolled back onto bed, the clean tube carefully replacing the blocked one. Leatherhead sighed in relief as the machine helped him breathe once again.

"We'll have to replace it with a trach tube soon, it will make this much easier to handle."

I nodded sadly and looked over to see Casey sitting on Raphaels bed, repeatedly removing the turtles hands from his mouth. He was apparently biting himself for reasons unknown. The mutated crocodile looked in their direction as well, smiling sadly. To see Casey this caring and careful was almost weird, yet nice to see that side of him.

"No Raphie, please stop biting yourself, you might actually bite through the skin." He tried to reason with him, but he didn't seem to listen as his hands rose once again.

"Can't we restrict him?" He asked as he pinned his hands to the bed.

"I do not think that is smart, if he undergoes another seizure and his hands are tied down, he may risk hurting his wrists. It is simply not an option."

Casey sighed, feeling useless as he let go, and I couldn't blame him. I turned my head back to leatherhead.

"Where's everyone? Where's Donnie and Rockwell?"

"Not far. They are performing surgery in the room over there." He pointed towards a door in the other end of the warehouse.

"Surgery? Who's under the knife?" Casey asked worried. I sighed and looked away from the door.

"It's Mikey, isn't it? That's why he isn't here." He nodded and looked down, hand stroking Leos arm.

"Yes. He is getting his arm amputated. Apparently it was too infected and had to be removed."

I gasped and held my breath, trying to get over the shocking news. Mikey, the baby of the family, the master of the nunchucks and pizza making, would soon be losing an arm? No, he was lying, this couldn't be true.

As on cue the door opened, and out rolled a young unconscious ninja lying on a rolling bed. The short limp, only consisting of an upper arm now, was covered in bandages already soaked in blood. I frowned as Rockwell pushed him closer. Donnie was the one closing the door, leaving the place in dim light once again. He rolled the wheelchair slowly, only to stop in his tracks halfway. I looked at the youngest as he now lay in between Leos bed and Raphs. He didn't look pained, actually, if I didn't know better I would say he was sleeping peacefully. No doubt he was heavily drugged.

I looked towards Don once again, noticing he hadn't moved at all. Was he alright? I handed Rockwell the cure, then stood up and moved towards him. I sat down beside him, a hand on his thigh. He was looking down, tears slowly running down his cheeks.

"Donnie, how do you feel?" He sniffed, a tear falling on my hand. "You look tired, you should rest a bit." At that he looked up at me, mask soaked in salty water. I rubbed the tears away with my thumps, trying to send a warm smile. He rubbed his cheek against my hand, taking in the comfort I was trying to give.

"We got the cure, things are going to be better from now on. The doctor is going to analyze it, and hopefully be able to make more, you know, to save New York once again."

At that he smiled weakly. "We always do, don't we?"

"Yeah... Want a hug? It's not much but-" I got cut short once again as he pulled me into a tight hug, head resting on my shoulder as he sobbed silently. "Ssshhh, it's okay, I'm here" I assured, rubbing the back of his head, mouth close to his ear as I whispered soothing words. He needed something good to happen, and he needed it soon. He was breaking, if not already broken.

* * *

Casey's POV

We all looked at the needle as the monkey stung Leo in the arm. He squirmed like a worm getting cut in half, body seizing up just like Raphs did a few minutes ago. He tried to yell up, tried to push us away, but it was no use. His neck went stiff, eyes rolling backwards as the cramping slowly died down. He was then quiet, unconscious, just like the others. He was still twitching now and then, but the worst part was finally over.

I looked at Red sitting beside Donnie, who finally agreed to lay down. The poor dude was exhausted, yet couldn't seem to find rest at all. He blinked rapidly, forcing his eyes to stay open, not daring to close them.  
She looked back at me, that same glued on smile as she tightened Donnies hand.

"What a mess huh?" I spoke up to break the silence, only to be glared at. "What?

Everyone shook their heads in reunion. "Count on Casey to break the silence." Don chuckled, eyes closing.

"Well sorry for trying to lighten the mood, it's not like Mike is awake to do it." I regretted saying that when their eyes sadly fell to the ground. "But he'll wake up soon! Nothing to worry about" Okay, I wasn't helping at all at this point. "Sorry..."

"We should install the trach tube for Leo while we have the chance." The huge crocodile spoke soon after while looking through a drawer.

"Yes, there is no reason to wait any longer." The monkey agreed, and soon Leo was gone for surgery.

This was going to be a long night... I sighed and leaned back in the chair, silence between us once again as we waited.

And waited, and waited some more...

* * *

**Warning; might be slow to update again, but I'll try and find time. Reviews are highly appreciated. **


	20. Doomed

**Fair enough dear readers, you caught the SAINW vibe I threw into this. For that I reward you with another chapter, and the honor of being right. You would make Leo proud. Now, don't kill me, but things aren't looking good for the boys. No one dies, I promise!**

**I don't own TMNT**

* * *

_**Take away the sensation inside, bittersweet migraine in my head  
It's like a throbbing toothache of the mind, I can't take this feeling anymore. **_

_**Drain the pressure from the swelling, this sensation's overwhelming,  
Give me a long kiss goodnight, and everything will be alright  
Tell me that I won't feel a thing. So give me Novocaine.**_

_**-Green Day**_

* * *

Donnie's POV

It's been two hours since my brothers (and Slash who's in another room and in a far better condition) got the cure. The only sign that it's working is their fever slightly decreasing and breathing stabilizing.

Leo came back from surgery not long ago, and he sounds terrible. The tracheotomy now installed in his throat can't be removed till we're sure he can breathe on his own again. His lungs are severely damaged, he'll have to take Spirometry tests when he's well enough and awake. These tests measures the flow and amount of air when you breathe in and out as deeply and forcefully as you can. This way we'll be able to measure Leos lung capacity. Rockwell installed a pulse oximeter that he's currently wearing just in case. Knowing that his heart might stop again sends shivers down my shell, so to say. His constant wheezing is painful to listen to, but I'll have to get used to it. I'm well aware that his condition might be chronic, that he'll have to retain himself doing training, that is, if he'll ever be able to actually exercise after this.

We've talked about getting the cure out to the public, but we haven't made a plan yet. With both leaders down, and me too exhausted to think clearly... Let's just say we'll have to wait a little longer with that. Of cause the thought of people dying while we sit here with the antidote is pointless, but what exactly are we supposed to do? Let April enter the hospital, filled with sick, crazy people, walk up to a nurse and give it to her? That would seem suspicious, and they would start asking her about it. No, that's too great a risk. We talked with Jack Kurtzen, who's the only grown up human that we know, besides Kirby, that may succeed in delivering it. Yes they would ask him how he got it, but in the end he would manage to trick them. This was the only idea that we all agreed on, yet still, it needed some details...

* * *

An hour later

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for. Mikey, the ball of sunshine was waking up. He was blinking rapidly to keep his tired blue eyes open. We were all beside him, sending him warm smiles of relief and greeting. I don't know what we had expected, but it hit us all when he didn't smile back. Instead he frowned and started whining. I tried to sooth him by stroking his forehead, telling him that he would be okay, but he only got more agitated, and his breathing got fast again. It only took me a few seconds to realize that he was having a wave of nausea. Mikey was already sitting up partly from all the pillows behind him, and as soon as the bucket was in place, or actually a few seconds before that, his stomach started contracting. A few minutes of violent retching and whimpering made the youngest break into mad sweating, and for a minute it looked like he might pass out. I sat beside him and placed a hand on his stomach to rub soothing circles as he started drooling into the bucket. A desperate groan later and puke spouted out from both mouth and nose. It was mostly water and bile, but it didn't make it any less painful for him, or for us to look at.

As the vomiting slowed down he began to mumble about pain in his stomach and left arm, but said arm wasn't there anymore, meaning he must have experienced phantom limb pains. Rockwell did warn us about that. He leaned against me, using my forearm as a pillow. We stayed like that for a little while before he fell back asleep.

I hadn't been prepared for that kind of awakening, but at least he wasn't in the same level of danger anymore. Still, the fact he didn't realize he was missing a limp, and didn't ask any questions worried me. Would I have to tell him before he notice it? Or maybe he'll try and reach out for something, only to find his arm none responding. Would he have a breakdown? Please no, not a depressed Mikey...

Raph woke a few minutes after Mikey fell back asleep. He seemed to have troubles opening his eyes, head moving restlessly on the pillow while mumbling incoherent words. We tried talking to him, but he didn't respond. The restless turning in bed almost send him over the edge, but Casey caught him just in time and got him back up. The sudden bite of Casey's hand was a bit of a surprise, and Rockwell immediately started running tests on him, just in case he got infected. After that no one dared to get too close to Raph, except me.

His fever was still pretty high, so we had to pull the blanket off of him. He didn't like that one bit and immediately started trembling madly, like someone just covered him in a thin layer of snow for the fun of torturing him, but it was necessary. I placed a wet rag on his forehead with a yawn, only to be rewarded with a hand on top of mine, trying to push me away. It was too weak to have any effect, and he soon gave up with a feeble sigh.

To find the strongest of us pathetically trying to shove my hand away like that made me realize...This devastating event had turned our world upside down, and I was now the strongest of us.

The sudden pained whimper managed to wake up our oldest, who's eyes flung open. He turned his head towards Raphael, but those glazed eyes told me that he was disoriented. He must have turned his head towards the noise by instinct. We tried talking to Leo as well, without gaining his attention. Either he didn't realize we were trying to talk to him, or then he couldn't respond. Then I realized that the tube had this button that you had to press down to be able to talk. I told April who went to him and carefully pressed it, but he was still none responding. She let go and he kept his death stare for a while, but finally broke it by a frown. His eyes closed as he slowly filled the catheter hanging on the side of the bed. He would have been embarrassed If he wasn't so out of it. How I just wanted everything to go back to normal...

* * *

That's it, the end of the world as we know it is coming fast this year. Oroku Saki, the shredder, also known as our arch enemy, of all living people, managed to gather the cure as well, and was now holding a speech on a big screen in New York city, telling everyone about the miracle cure him and his group of highly intelligent scientists made. But of cause he wouldn't give it out for free, and demanded to be the almighty ruler of New York in return. Figures.

Why was the news reporters even out in the fields and not isolating themselves? Who in their right mind would risk getting infected by a deadly disease, just for a juicy story?

Now back to the Shredder, who wanted to rule the world once more. He wasn't wearing the Kuro Kabuto, the large burn on his face covered up in thick layers of make-up, and wearing a black wig? Actually, he almost looked formal, wearing a suit and everything. In some way that only made him seem even creepier.

Oh man, things aren't looking good...

"I knew it! We should have acted the minute we got our hands on the antidote! What are we supposed to do now? Confront him?" Casey's sudden angry outburst made us all flinch. We were all on the edge, worrying about our hideout getting discovered. None of us was battle ready, and I felt like fainting at any moment now.

I've been looking at the leg braces that Rockwell gave me, and They all wanted me to try them on. Instead, I lay on the couch, head in Aprils lap as I tried to focus on the TV screen and not the beeping machines. She stroke my face gently, trying to lull me to sleep. I felt my eyes getting heavier, and before I knew it I fell into the first stage of non-REM sleep...

Simultaneous gasps woke me up, and an unwanted whimper escaped. I felt a few tears as I forced my eyes open. I looked at the bright screen, making me narrow my eyes. The Shredder had got an agreement. Soon he would be in control of the city and everyone living here, and with that sick vendetta of his it wouldn't take long before every soul of New York would be his slaves, constantly looking for us, the mutants, the freaks that spread the epidemic. He filled them with lies, blaming us for infecting an entire city. They had to be desperate for believing that nonsense.

I fought to keep my eyes open, I had to know what sick plans he had in mind, but the exhaustion overpowered me, and I was soon unconscious. The others would tell me everything I missed in the morning, but for now, I needed rest.

* * *

**Oh no, what will happen now? What do you think? Tell me in a review ;) Thanks for reading!**


	21. Hope

**SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING AND THEN MAKING IT THIS SHORT! I have been busy with college, and problems, and really just not had enough inspiration or motivation to update... But after being at the hospital today to visit a young family member who was in an accident this Saturday and could barely do anything at all... Let's just say I got a bit of motivation and inspiration back.**

**So after lot's of talking, happy reading ;)**

**I do not own TMNT **

* * *

Don's POV

You can say what you want about the Mutanimals, but their sofa have seen better days. I mean it's comfy and all, but worn out. I let a finger slide over a spot on one of the back pillows that was patched together with a thin fabric, most likely cut out from a curtain. These patches seemed to be a theme on all of their furniture.

I let my thoughts wander while April and Dr. Rockwell placed my still numb legs in braces. I felt curious about them, they had just the right shape for my legs. Where did he find these? Who made them? I'll have to ask him about it later...

"There, all done." April declared and smiled at me, and naturally I smiled back. I stroke the thick plastic that now covered both legs from the feet to the thighs. All I was able to feel was my toes, and moving them was still impossible.

None the less I stood up with the help of April, an arm around her shoulder and a crutch in the other hand. It felt weird to stand up again, and I soon noticed that I had to let the crutches carry all my weight as I lifted my legs from the floor, then quickly swung them forward. I'm sure I looked like an idiot, legs turning in weird directions, but no one laughed. On the contrary they smiled at me, congratulated the small victory of standing and getting forward.

But for some reason I didn't feel happy at all. Not only the risk of never being able to walk without assistance, but knowing that none of us would ever be the same turtles we were a few days ago made my heart ache. I stopped walking with a sigh, which I seemed to do a lot lately. What was the point of being happy when your family, your brothers are all... Disabled. When none of them are able to care for themselves.

Putting on the braces by myself would be easy enough as soon as I learn how to do so, I felt confident that it would be the least of our problems, but taking care of them for who knows how long? This would change everything. I would no longer be able to stay in the lab till early morning working on a project, instead I would be on constant alert and follow a schedule. Letting anyone out of sight or leaving the lair would be a no go as well. That is, if we're even able to stay there now that Shredders henchmen knows about it.

If only Master Splinter was still alive, he would know what to do. He's always been the one taking care of us and tell us that everything would be alright, that we would figure something out. If he was still here, he would advise us and lead us in the right directions. He's always been quick to notice if something was off, and had he stayed awake that night to meet them at the entrance all covered in goop, then he wouldn't just tell them to go take a shower, he would send them to the lap and I would have examined the green substance. This way we might have got the cure earlier, and Splinter would have knocked both Razar and Fishface out the moment they entered the lair. I would spray them with the mind serum and Sensei would leave them on the surface and they would wake up with no memories of our home.

If dad was still here, Razar would never get close enough to hurt me, my legs would still be working and this nasty illness wouldn't have gone this far. Who knows, maybe we even saved New York once again, but this wasn't some alternate universe, this was reality, and it sucked.

A faint groan caught my attention and I looked towards the beds in mild surprise. There, trying to sit up in bed was Leo. He was pale, red puffy eyes and trembling like a leaf. He looked weak, which were proven to be correct as he gave up and stayed down...

With sudden new found determination I forced myself to continue walking. With a crutch in each hand I walked all the way to his bed and sat down on the edge, then leaned the crutches against the small nightstand. I smiled and stroke his shoulder, glad to see him awake. I soon noticed his confusion and a hand traveling to his throat. I took his hand and moved it away.

"No Leo, it's okay, it's helping you breathe and you shouldn't touch it."

Leo gave a faint nod, eyes blinking as the move seemed to have made him dizzy. It was quiet for a bit, and I was about to ask him how he was feeling, but he broke the silence before me with a simple question;

"Where are they?" His voice sounded off, and not just feeble, it sounded weak and his breathing was noisy, I was barely able to understand him.

"We're at the Mighty Mutanimals hide out and you just woke up. Mikey and Raph are still sleeping. How are you feeling?"

He went quiet for a while, looking like thinking was the most uncomfortable thing to ever try to accomplish, which could only mean that he was having a headache. I was about to ask again when he suddenly coughed hardly. It didn't seem to stop anytime soon, so I took the remote for the bed to elevate his upper body to sit up without having to force him. I lay a hand on his chest and started rubbing, hoping it would help loosen it up. The cough attack finally stopped and watery red eyes looked at me, his breath rattling, as if slime got stuck in his throat making it hard to breathe.

I looked at Rockwell who pointed at a machine that is used for Tracheostomy suctioning. Right, I knew what to do and what to use, but having no experience of it made my hands shaky and heart beat faster. I knew Rockwell was keeping an eye on me in case something went wrong, but that didn't calm my nerves, I knew I had to learn to do it myself. He wouldn't be around at all times, but I hopefully would, and until Leo learned to do it by himself, if he ever would, I would be in charge of it.

I carefully moved Leo back down, disinfected my hands and put on over sized plastic gloves. I connected a clean catheter to the suction machine, then inserted the other end of the catheter into the trach tube. I applied suction and gently rolled it around while pulling it back out. It felt like I was doing it wrong but the rattling stopped and is breathing was only a slight pant, so I must have done something right. I unplugged it from the machine, turned it off and cleaned the catheter, all while Leo's eyes followed me.

"So... Are you hungry?" I asked as I finished and took off the gloves. What a stupid question to ask someone who almost choke a few minutes ago... Yet he nodded. I wasn't sure he would be able to keep it in him, but he was willing to try.

"Great! I mean, I'll make you some soup." I smiled and headed back to the couch to ask a very important question. "Do we have soup?"

...

"Here you go Leo, some tomato soup for you." I placed the breakfast bed table with a bowl and a cup of water in front of him. He looked at soup, then for some reason stuck a single finger into it.

I sighed and grab his hand to wipe it, then handed him the spoon. He took it and dip it, but his hand was to shaky to bring it up to his mouth without spilling. I praised myself for placing a towel in his lap. He was getting frustrated so I took the spoon and helped him. Feeding an older brother was weird to say the least, but it wouldn't always be like this, just for now.

He coughed by the first spoon full, and he didn't take more than four before turning his head away in sudden disgust. He had enough, he was getting greener and forcing him to take another spoonful would end up with him throwing it all back up. Small steps, we'll just focus on those. I took the bowl and table away before making him drink some water. As he finished half the glass I took the remote and let him lay down again, pulled the blanket up to his chest and placed a cold rag on his forehead. It didn't take more than a few minutes for him to fall back asleep...

* * *

**How do you think Raph and Mikey will react when they wake up? Do you think they'll be able to go back to the lair? Leave a review and we'll see if you guys are right... Again XD**


	22. Leave the past behind

**Hey look, having yet another sick family member to care for gives me enough inspiration to write another chapter and update only a week later! Also, lets agree, turtles in space are awesome! Okay, lets not get distracted and stay focused on this story and not space fic ideas ^^' **

**I don't own TMNT**

* * *

It's now 8AM in the morning and two hours since Leo went back to sleep. We had to remove the blanket as he complained about the heat, but as soon as we did he started trembling, so we pulled it over him again, ignoring his further complaining. He would wake up occasionally to cough or sneeze, one of us would clean his nose and he would fall back asleep.

But after a specially bad fit of coughing Leo didn't go back to sleep and instead whined loudly to then curl up in the fetal position with his face hidden in the sheets and arms wrapped around his chest. He barely dared breathing after that and gave short gasps for every inhale of air he took. Dr. Rockwell took him into the other room to take an x-ray of his lungs. When they got back out he handed me an x-ray picture that proved a severe infection in both right and left lung, and the cough had managed to bruise a few ribs. We placed an ice bag on the injured part of his chest and now waited for him to go back to sleep.

Raph almost woke up a few minutes ago and mumbled something as he turned in bed, yet fell silent again soon after.

I was finally starting to calm my nerves when I heard a whine and turned my head to see Mikey shift in bed, trying to lay on his bad side. He frowned in discomfort and I had a feeling of what that reason might be.

He was waking up, I could tell by the way his eyelids flickered. I stood up, a crutch in each hand and limped my way from my oldest bothers bed to my youngest. I stood beside him as he opened his eyes and looked up at me, blue eyes filled with horror as he tried and failed to find and move his missing limp.

"Donny, what..? I can't find my arm..."

"Mikey... There's, something I have to tell you... "

He stared at me in worry as I sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It was badly infected... I tried, we tried, but we couldn't save it... It had to be removed, I'm so sorry..."

I did my best to tell him the awful news as calmly and collected as I possibly could without making my voice tremble too much, fighting back the guilt that made huge knots in my stomach as I saw his reaction.

"...Oh..." That was it, that was all Mikey said as he forced himself to sit up, then looked at his right hand resting in his lap as his face went pale and his eyes blank. He tried moving the upper part of his arm that was covered in thick bandages, but found it impossible as it was heavily anesthetized to make sure he wouldn't feel the pain.

"Mikey... Please look at me..."

My brother didn't share any eye contact with me, he didn't cry, he wasn't mad, he was just, there, looking at his upper arm. He bend forward with a feeble groan, mouth staying open as he looked like he was about to get really sick again. I hurried to grab a barf bag from a drawer in the nearby table, then placed it at his mouth. It didn't take long before he threw up bile and slime, giving the bag a few centimeters of stomach content before he fainted and fell backwards onto the bed, eyes partly open and white as his pupils hid in his eyelids. The shock and the dizziness of waking up to the news of missing a part of himself had been too much for him... My poor baby brother looked dead...

"What happened?" April asked as she sat down on the bed beside me and looked at Mikey.

"He fainted. He found out about his arm and fell unconscious again."

April sighed sadly and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We're all here to support him, he'll get better and find a way to live with it, but he'll need time."

I nodded and stroke his forehead, noticing a rising fever. I told April to get a wet rag as I pulled the blanket off of him to give him some much needed air. She came back a few minutes later and placed the rag on his forehead.

In the meantime Slash had come out of hiding, and he looked... Almost normal. A bit confused, but that was about it. Good thing the infection didn't have enough time to give him anything chronic.

He and Casey were standing at Raphs bed, listening to his feeble sleep mumbling. It was rather relaxing, that faint sound of my brothers voice. If the situation had been different, I would have smiled at his sleep talking.

Casey suddenly jumped back when Raph sat up with a sudden, hands hugging his aching head. He gave a loud painful groan as he bend forward.

"Raphael, what is wrong?!" Slash asked worried as he placed a hand on each shoulder, trying to get eye contact with him. He gave a hiss and clenched a fist to then hit his right temple in a failed attempt to punch his head hard enough to make the pain go away. It made him cry out loud as his vision got weird, as if one eye stopped functioning and anything he looked at was only partly there. I know this cause he reached out for Casey who was quick to stand by his side again, but missed by a few centimeters. His arm movements were unnatural as if he had troubles using them correctly, and it was starting to worry me. His head must have taken more damage after the infection than I first thought.

Raph lashed out at Slash when the large mutant grab one of his hands before he could hit himself again, and he yelled out in pain and frustration when his fist hit solid plastron.

"Raphael, my friend, you are only hurting yourself." Slash tried to reason with him, but it was like talking to a door, no response or proof that he was even listening.

Slash pinned his hands down as Rockwell stung him with a needle filled with a strong painkiller. Raph looked at the needle and blinked repeatedly as he tried to focus to get his vision back. He yelled up about no one touching him and wiggled when he felt the needle go through the skin, but Slash's grip was too strong to get free. After a few minutes he went still and looked at his friend in confusion as his vision cleared.

"...Dude, why are you... sitting on me?"

Slash let go with a sigh of relief. He sounded more normal now. Raphael sat up and rubbed his head with another pained groan.

"Ugh, who hit me, I feel like I died and woke up... from the dead?... Where are we?"

Casey began to explain but had to cut it short as the turtles head was hurting too much to focus on long detailed explanations. As Casey ended, he nodded faintly.

"So, we're at the docks right? And Shredder now own New York..? Why does my eye hurt?" The hothead started rubbing his left eye irritated and kept it closed when Casey forced his hand away.

"Can you see through it?" I asked and he turned his head to look at me.

"Dunno...What happened to him?" Raph asked and pointed at Mikey.

"You mean Mikey? He's... Asleep."

"No, what happened to his arm, where is it? Am I going blind?"

I shook my head and explained what happened. When I finished he had a serious frown on his face.

"Ugh, head hurts, I'll sleep" was all he said before laying down again and went unconscious.

It was now 9AM, and we were making process.

* * *

They were now ready to leave to go find a new place for us to live, and with them I mean Slash, Leatherhead, Pete, April and Casey. They had made a plan of where to go and what to take with them, and soon I would be alone with Rockwell and my brothers. I was feeling a bit anxious about letting them go, the city wasn't itself lately, so who knows what might happen while they're gone. Someone could attack them, or even attack us, and we're down to one stable fighter.

But we need a new place to live, a new place to call home, and hopefully be able to get some of our furniture moved from the old lair to the new one. That is, if there's any safe places left, if not, then we'll have to leave the city and go back to north Hampton as soon as possible before it's too late.

I must admit, at times like this, I'm glad we have a place to leave to, and hopefully this time there won't be any mutants to deal with. We need peace and quiet, a place where we won't have to fight, and when we're ready, we'll continue the fight to save New York once more.

* * *

**Well, they're finally waking up, and hopefully they won't get worse. If they do, there's friends and family ready to help ^.^ Read and review, as reviews gives me motivation and determination to continue. **


	23. Transportation

A young girl with sky blue eyes and face covered in tiny freckles made her way down the cold, wet streets of New York, wearing a hoodie to cover her face and stay as dry as possible. She tried to avoid getting spotted by the few folks who didn't cross Shredders headquarters to get the miracle zombie cure, or rather, anti Kraang pandemic. They would gladly take the cure that Oroko Saki offered, and the price had been small, all he wanted was to rule the city, not that big of a deal.

Beside the redhead walked a slightly older and dark haired boy, who were wearing a hoodie as well. The teens weren't sure whether they were at any risk of getting captured, so it was better to hide under the wet fabric. The Mighty Mutanimals were underneath and above them, making sure to stay completely out of sight. Underneath them, following the tracking device on April's wrist was Leatherhead and Dr. Rockwell. Above, making their way by the rooftops were Slash and Pigeon Pete.

They had been out an about for a while now, searching for ways to escape the city without getting noticed, but a new place to hide in case it wasn't possible was fine as well. The warehouse near the docks had been just fine, lots of space and everything they needed, but it was also in plain sight, which meant that a certain ruler would send his army out to investigate it eventually. No, they couldn't stay there, as much as they wanted to. If they had to go somewhere for refuge, they had to leave for the farmhouse once again.

While April was in her own thoughts, Casey was on full alert, taking in his surroundings in case they needed an escape route. It sure was quiet, not a single car drove past them as they continued down the streets in soaked shoes. They needed a car, any kind of transportation, but their vehicles was parked at the lair, and as far as they knew, that place would be heavily guarded by now. If anything they would have to borrow someone's car, and it had to be big enough for all of them to fit. Did such a car even exist? Maybe a truck or a bus?

"A school bus!" April suddenly spoke aloud, making Casey flinch in surprise. He told her to turn down the volume or they would get unwanted attention, which she agreed on before continuing in a whisper.

"We can borrow a school bus, its big enough for all of us, and the seats are long enough for the guys to lay on. No one's there and even the police is out for now. It's the best chance we got."

"I don't see why not." Slash's voice roared through her earpiece. "How far away are we from your school miss O'Niell?"

"Not that far actually, a few blocks from here, we'll be there in about twenty minutes or less."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go already!" Casey grab her arm impatiently and together they ran towards the school.

A yellow bus driven by a crazy teenage boy came flying around the street corner in full speed, and had no intend to slow down. A redhead was sitting in the front, clinging to the seat for dear life as Casey took another violent turn. In the back of the bus sat the rest of the group, cramped together in what could go as a very manly hug. They weren't scared by the drivers speed and recklessness, they knew he wouldn't crash, or at least hoped so. It didn't help yelling at him, so after April's fifth speed warning, she decided to stay quiet and let him drive in peace. They weren't that far anyway…

They arrived at the docks twenty minutes later, and Slash, followed by Leatherhead, hurried inside. They greeted the purple clad turtle who was leaned over the youngest brother's bed half asleep. Nothing serious had happened while they were gone, so they hurried to wrap all three turtles in white blankets like burritos, lifted them from the beds and carried them outside to the waiting vehicle. Slash carefully carried a groaning Raphael, and Leatherhead carried Michelangelo and Leonardo with focus on the leaders breathing. April ran inside soon after to help Donatello hobble out and into the bus as well.

The mutants gently lay the three brothers on each row of seats, and as soon as all the gear was packed, the turtles were as comfortable as possible, and everyone had taken a leak, the doors closed and Casey hit the speeder, but a bit milder this time. It would take a few hours to get to the farmhouse, but they would be safe as soon as they left New York. Maybe.


	24. Refuge

**I'm back! New chapter! I have been so busy lately, and finally went on vacation! I'm not sure how many more chapters I'll put into this, maybe only one more, or two, and then it's done ^^ Thank you all for being patient and leaving reviews! I know this one is very short, hopefully I'll get to make some longer ones in the future. Reviews are highly appreciated!**

* * *

The trip towards the border of New York City felt as long and freezing as it had back when the city had been invaded, and Leo went into a coma. Only this time, Leonardo wasn't the only one nearly dying, and besides the chemical used to start the epidemic, Oroku Saki was the one at fault for brainwashing the people. The only logical explanation to all this would be that Kraang and Shredder were working together once more.

On a row of sweat smelling bus seats lay a young, now one-armed turtle, two blankets wrapped around him like a shaking burrito, drool running down his pale freckled cheek and onto April's tights. Mikey had been restless ever since they'd moved him, and April had taken the role of calming him down. She lay his head in her lap and stroked the back of it, and within minutes, he fell asleep.

On the seats in front of him lay another trembling turtle, Raphael. He was holding the blankets tightly and close, desperate for heat that he simply couldn't gain. Not even the warmth of a younger brother's hands rubbing his arm had any effect on his feverish body. He was freezing, and the wet cloth on his forehead didn't help the slightest. It felt like he was in a tub filled with ice cubes, leaving his skin prickling, almost numb to the touch. They all reacted to the cure; their fever had gone down, only to rise again an hour later. They gave them another ten milligrams a few minutes ago, hoping that giving it regularly would fight off the infection. So far, nothing had changed, and the red clad turtle was still having a migraine.

On the other side, a row back, lay the oldest of the turtles, oxygen mask still attached to his face. He had barely moved since they'd started driving, and they had to check on him every few minutes to be sure he was still breathing properly. Phlegm continued to rise from his lungs, and due to lack of coughing, quickly build up in his throat. If they didn't clean the tube regularly, the boy would suffocate from lack of oxygen. His heart had a proper rhythm for a while, nothing out of the ordinary, which gave them one thing less to worry about for the time being.

Soon enough they crossed the border, leaving the city behind, and were speeding down the highway towards Northampton. The road was smooth, not a single bump or hole in the asphalt slick with water. It was still raining, and the windows were cold to the touch, but to their luck, the old bus had a heating system, keeping them warm. The clouds blocked the moon and stars, the only source of light being the lamps at the highway edge.

The atmosphere was close to melancholic, yet somehow everyone managed to stay calm and collected. This was all a confusing mess. Everything had happened so suddenly, and it had yet to sink in properly. There was no doubt that this would have lasting effects on their lives, but they would manage. They had to.

They took shifts in observing the sick, and after a few hours of driving, Dr. Rockwell took over driving to give Casey a break. The kid had been thankful and moved to the backseat to sit next to April, with Donnie on her other side. April offered him a fair share of their blanket, which he couldn't refuse, and soon enough, both boys were leaning against her, fast asleep and lightly snoring. Even April managed to close her eyes, trusting the others to keep an eye on her brothers and wake them up if anything happened.

* * *

The rest of the night had been calm and peaceful, and by the time morning arrived, the bus stopped in front of the old farmhouse. Donnie woke up to April lightly shaking him, telling the genius to get up as they had arrived at their destination. Besides the two, the bus was completely empty. Had he slept through that? Apparently, yes, he had.

With a sigh, Donnie took the hand April offered him and stood up with a wince. The pain was still there, and he still couldn't walk, much to his dismay. Back when Doctor Rockwell examined the damage done to his spine, it had been a near conclusion that Donnie might never get to walk again, at least not without the help of others or the special made braces. Not only did his injury add problems, it made everyday activities harder as well. Things like training and running, even walking up the stairs would be very difficult from now on.

April helped the sad turtle out of the bus and inside the house where everyone had gathered in the middle of the living room, discussing things while still holding the three brothers. Taking them upstairs and into separate rooms, curtains closed to keep the light from hurting them seemed like the wisest decision, yet they would need some kind of alarm in case something happened when they weren't around. April had mentioned baby monitors with built-in cameras, that way they could keep an eye on them from the living room. No one disagreed, and Casey volunteered to go and buy them. Knowing that the boy had no idea how or where to find them, April decided to go with him; they needed a bunch of other things as well, so it was for the best.

The rest of them headed upstairs to place the three in their beds and get the medical equipment installed, leaving Donnie alone on the couch to think. If they didn't improve at all for the next couple of days, then what? What could he do? Could he even do anything at all? Probably not. No, it was up to them now, and they had to know that. They had to fight this, no matter how much it hurt or how sick they felt, they couldn't give up now. Donnie wouldn't let them.


End file.
